New Beginnings, Old Stories
by Asmith137
Summary: Four female penguins from Antarctica have been taken by scientists from a research facility and are sent to the Central Park Zoo for a New Year breeding program. How will things go for these penguins? Will they fall in love or end up leaving New York to be rejoined with their colony back in Antarctica? First story, please review.
1. Prolouge

Darkness surrounded the frozen tundra of ice that was known as Antarctica, with only the dimmest light flickering through the deathly wasteland. Giant grey clouds surrounded the sky, disguising whether it was night or day in its swirling chaos. Harsh winds attacked the area with white chips of ice that were forcefully thrown about. The winds scraped at the landscape, leaving ice that could scratch someone raw by a simple touch. The area appeared lifeless, except for the four penguins ascending the icy mountains where, hopefully, the wind and the ice would lighten up enough so they could rest.

Huge sudden bursts of ice cold wind threatened their footing as they tried to reach the top of the large snowy bank. One that was particularly forceful forced them to stop. They held their ground and stood there for a couple of seconds, panting as the wind whipped out its assault. Reluctantly, they continued to move on when it let up.

"Why the heck are we doing this again?" the tallest of the four hollered over the wind with a cloud of its breath visible as it spoke. It stopped walking for a second, trying to get its breath back from the constant effort it was exhorting on its body. It instantly regretted it when it tumbled backwards from the force of the wind, nearly colliding against the death ice. However, a silver feathered penguin caught it just in time.

"Because if you don't want to be frozen to death, you're gunna want to get up there where it's safer! Now stop whining and start walking!" the silver bird yelled as it jumped back to save the taller, brown feathered penguin before it even made contact with the ice, face first. The brown penguin didn't hesitate, and they hastily joined back with the others.

They pressed their bodies together, not only for warmth, but to protect each other from the death, ice cold wasteland. They've been looking for refuge from the storm for a while and this was their last chance, or they would die from exhaustion and hunger. How long have they been out there? The silver penguin didn't care and neither did the others because it simply didn't matter anymore. They just wanted to get out of the storm and survive before exhaustion took its toll.

"I think we're almost there!" the smallest of the penguins' cried out, trying to blink its eyes to get rid of the frost. All the flightless bird got as a response was a grunt in acknowledgment from a penguin behind that had a messy lot of feathers on its head.

They sped up their pace as much as they possibly could, determined to reach the top. The smallest penguin tripped and threatened to tumble downwards, only to be caught by the silent flightless bird and pushed back up to its feet. The little avian would've fallen all the way back down and would have plowed against the deadly ice, a death sentence.

"Thanks!" it gasped.

Once more, it only got a grunt in return from the silent penguin.

With the last of their strength, they pulled to the very top where the wind stopped abruptly, making them face plant onto the frosty snow. They were used to fighting the wind, so they were thankful to be able to rest, even for just a second.

"That…was…horrible…" the shortest penguin panted in-between breaths. "I-I'm….s-so…tired…"

"Antarctica…it does that to you," the brown penguin mumbled, lifting its head up only to have it crash back down again. The penguins' moaned in exhaustion, ignoring the biting cold.

The silver flightless avian slowly lifted its head from the snow and saw a large building in front of them. It couldn't hold in its gasp of horror. Buildings meant people and people meant guns.

Guns only meant death.

It scrambled up and turned to its fellow companions anxiously. "Get up! Those monsters will find us then shoot us with guns and mount us on their walls!"

They were all dazed, making them proccess everything slowly. "What?" the penguins' chorused, except for the silent bird.

"C'mon get up! They're going to find us!"

It was too late though.

The energy depleted penguins' looked up to see humans with dart guns. These people were covered in thick clothing, hoods covering up their heads, and were wearing thick goggles over their eyes. They seemed to be discussing something before they lifted their dart guns up, aiming for the penguins.

"Oh my…" The shortest flightless bird shivered as it caught sight of one of the humans aiming for the only standing bird. The shortest penguin scrambled off the ground, leaving the two others lying there. It knocked the silver penguin away, only to be rewarded with a dart on the back of its neck. A sharp squawk escaped its beak at the impact.

"No! This can't happen!" the avian shouted to the heavens and dramatically fell to its knees.

Slowly the small avian fell to the ground and everything started to get fuzzy but not before it saw the rest of its comrades being shot with darts also. It felt itself slipping into un-conciseness and being picked up by something soft. It only brought its own exhaustion back up from the trek and, with that, it gave up and everything went black.


	2. Hospital

The little and silent avian birds awoke to see that they were enclosed in a large cage that was resting on a white counter in a medium sized room. It was a quiet room, with the only sound being from the ticking clock, with black and white checkered tiles and a blank white ceiling. The room was covered and littered with tools that were on white, long counters. They both realized simultaneously on what happened. They were captured, defeated. They just lost their pride. They let their guard down and now they'll pay the price for it.

To believe that all this was to find some fish for the penguins' back home, too. They were the wall that protected those penguins but now they were left alone and it's their fault. They're open pickings for leopard seals and other predators, along with the humans that would use them for who knows what.

The silver penguin stirred and, when it saw its surroundings, smacked its head on the bars. In the result, it woke up the tallest of the four from clank. "This is my entire fault. I take full responsibility girls," the silver penguin moaned. "I should've been and acted quicker!" She smacked her head repeatedly against the bars in self-punishment. "Stupid, stupid, stupid...!" she kept muttering underneath her breath.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, Amber. It's not your fault, only ours. We didn't react quickly enough," the tallest penguin comforted.

"Flora's right! It wasn't your fault! I take responsibly for the failed mission," the smallest avian declared and stood up.

The silver bird shook her head. "Sara, don't take responsibility for something that isn't yours."

"No Amber, I take responsibility for the failed mission also. It's not your fault," Flora insisted.

The silent one grunted and sat by the others for support. They knew she was with them, no matter what happened.

"Thanks Madison," Sara chirped, a smile forming on her face.

"No!" Amber growled harshly, startling the others. "I'm your leader, I take the blame! If I didn't let you three go with me for fish or go up that mountain cliff, we wouldn't be here!"

"Well, we would be dead if we didn't come here. Let's just say we're lucky?" Flora suggested.

"Hey…where are we anyway?" Sara whimpered and huddled up close to Flora for protection.

Madison growled when she saw all the medical equipment. She was not a fan. She eyed everything with fierce weariness. Her gaze then rested on a toy that had a red baseball cap on, gaining her interest. She grinned slyly. It looked a lot like the kind of hat her brother use to have. She liked the hat; she wanted it.

Madison reached for it with her flipper and was just able to wrap her flipper at the tip of the baseball cap. She pulled it through the bars without the others noticing, much to her satisfaction. Her smile widened as she put it backwards on her head, letting some strand feathers pop out of the cap. Most noticeably, three feathery bangs from where the adjuster strap was. The others were too busy observing their surroundings to notice.

"I think we are in a medical care facility," Flora stated.

They let that sink in their minds, but they were brought back when Madison's stomach growled loudly. They all looked at her with blank stares of exasperation. Madison laughed sheepishly, rubbed the back of her head, and tried to silence her stomach with a glare. The others went back to studying the room.

Flora then noticed a pretty daisy flower in a vase and was immediately fascinated with it. She hadn't seen a flower for a long time. She studied it and decided she wanted to keep it. She grabbed it and placed it on her head. "Is it ok if I keep this flower?" Flora asked hopefully to Amber. It was an instinct for her to ask permission to have something, though it often got annoying.

Amber shrugged indifferently. It did look good on her. "Knock yourself out." This made Flora smile.

Their attention was immediately directed toward the door when they heard a clicking sound emit from it. The door was gently and slowly pushed open. Curiously, they watched as someone came into the room.

A man in a white lab coat walked in with a bucket and, by the smell that emitted from the pail, it contained fish. Madison's tongue rolled out of her beak at the smell with longing in her eyes. The other penguins' stomachs growled from hunger, making Madison laugh at the irony.

"Well, looks like my patients are finally up," he chuckled. "Ok, who wants some fish?"

The generally mute bird didn't pay attention to the glares from her team as she started jumping around, wanting all the fish for herself. The man chuckled at her enthusiasm and opened the cage door enough so he could give the girls the fish without them escaping.

Not caring if the food had any drug in it, they started swallowing the fish hungrily. As they swallowed the last of the fish they for once, in a long time, felt full. Madison licked her beak in content; Sara patted her full belly; Flora had passed out in the cage, and Amber let out a sigh of pleasure. The obvious leader of the four shifted over so she could study the doctor.

He wore a lab coat with a gray turtleneck underneath and wore blue pants. He had brown spiked up hair, most likely natural rather than gel, and his skin was a nice creamy tan. She then noticed that he was looking through the drawers for something. _What's he looking for?_ She thought suspiciously and looked at him with hatred. Her attention snapped to Sara when she spoke.

"Can you remember the last time we were full like this?" Sara asked in a murmur.

"Nope but I missed the feeling," Amber sighed, rubbing her belly. They usually gave the fish they caught to the other penguins', and they got two fish each if they were lucky.

Madison grunted in response like usual.

"I'm just going to give you little penguins an injection and you'll be ready," the doctor told them calmly.

Sara gulped. "Did he say injection?" she squeaked.

Madison growled as the man came to open the cage for the first victim.

The doctor laughed. "I had no idea penguins could growl. Ok, come on now and be a good girl…Ow!" He began to suck his finger where Madison had bit him. Madison growled threateningly but had a deep sense of amusement in her eyes at his reaction. The man sighed and put the syringe down on a table and studied them for a second to analyze the situation.

"They might be more aggressive than I thought," he muttered to himself. "Ok!" They jumped when he clapped his hands together. "Let's try this one." He picked up the syringe and went for Sara instead. The young bird was too petrified with fear to move, while the others were too exhausted to help her. The doctor picked her up and injected the needle point into Sara's bottom. She shrieked from the injection but the pain quickly went away, leaving her drowsy.

"Sara? Are you ok?" Amber shouted in worry. Sara only giggled in response.

The stranger put her back in the cage and refilled the syringe.

"Would you keep it down, I'm trying to sleep," Flora mumbled with one flipper hanging over her closed eyes, unaware of what was going on.

Amber rolled her eyes and crossed her flippers over her chest in annoyance. It was obvious she had a temper. "Nice to see you're awake, sleeping beauty." She kicked Flora roughly in the side to make her get up.

Flora moaned and looked up to see a hand. "What the-?" she yelped before, she too, was also injected in the bottom.

Amber smacked her head against the bar in frustration. She looked up to see the door opening again with another person entering the room.

It was a female human this time. She wore a white lab coat and blue pants also. She had blonde hair that was tied in a messy bun. She had a white folder with words printed on it in her hands, but Amber couldn't read, unfortunately. Flora and Sara were the only ones who could, and even Sara was just learning.

"Are these the penguins you're going to send to the Central Park Zoo, Dr. Ronald?" the woman asked.

Dr. Ronald spared her a glance as he made his way toward the cage to put Flora back inside and choose another victim to his needle.

_Zoo? We're going to a Zoo?_ Amber thought with confusion and dread.

"Ah yes, Nurse Anna, they'll go for the breeding program there," the doctor told her, refilling the syringe. "I believe there are four penguins that are ready and these are good specimens for breeding. We'll also get a decent amount of money from the Zoo that will help with our research fund," he explained and grabbed Madison, who tried to bite him.

_Uh no. No way! I'm not going to breed with some stupid male penguins! Her_ thoughts were interrupted with Madison's growl as she was injected in the rear end. Amber knew she was next.

Anna looked at Madison as she slowly lost consciousness. "I don't know about that one though. She seems a bit too aggressive and…" She paused in mid-sentence and looked down at the now passed out Madison more closely. "Is she wearing that baseball hat from the souvenir I got you last year?"

Amber hadn't noticed that hat till now. She rolled her eyes and smacked her flipper against her forehead.

Dr. Ronald gently put Madison back into the cage, refilling the syringe when he was done. "I'll let her keep it. It actually makes her cuter that way." He laughed with the nurse for a minute before he walked over to Amber. "Well, this is the last one." He reached to grab Amber, but she jumped around the cage, trying to avoid the needle. The doctor huffed and asked the nurse to assist him.

Amber continued to move, duck and jump to avoid the two sets of hands, but her energy was faltering quickly. She tripped on her own feet, and her bottom met the needle point. She cringed from the pain but soon met the blissful state of sleep.

The doctor closed the cage and instructed the nurse to put it in the cargo part of the plane while he would clean up his supplies.

The nurse nodded and took the cage. She walked out the door and went down the hallway of their base. She would say hi to other scientists or doctors as she went through the corridor. Anna reached the end of it where a door that had a flashing sign above it that read 'Exit' was. She opened the door and met the chilling breeze of the tundra. She quickly ran toward the plane with the cage that was carrying the four penguins in her hands. The nurse gently placed the cage in the airplane and moved the penguins' from their cage to a large shipping crate.

"You penguins rest now, and you'll be happy to see a new environment," she explained pointlessly, considering the penguins' were knocked out. She made sure the crate was sealed up tight and slapped a label onto it. She walked away from the crate and gave it one last glance before she walked out of the plane and back into the base to feel warmth again from the heaters inside the building.

Soon the plane began to move and slowly took off from the Antarctic base to New York


	3. New Beginnings

Skipper calmly took a sip of his fish coffee as he watched three sleeping shapes snore in their bunks. It was another day in New York's Central Park Zoo that brought promises of, in their case, training and covert missions. Only recently had it passed Christmas with a large party that had left his men tired and sloppy. Skipper wouldn't have that. He shook his head with closed eyes before pulling out a blow horn. A simple movement of his flipper was all it took for a loud noise to erupt in the HQ. His own voice mixed with the noise as he shouted, "WAKE UP!"

Three penguins promptly shouted in surprise and fell out of their bunks, leaving a stacked penguin pile on the ground. They blinked in tired surprise but snapped awake when they heard the familiar voice of their commanding officer.

"Rise and shine, boys," Skipper announced more calmly and stepped in front of the three. He tossed the blow horn away with the sound of a crash following in the background. Kowalski, Rico and Private scrambled up and stood at attention in front of Skipper. Their leader paced before them and ordered, "Kowalski, get us up to speed."

"Well..." Kowalski trailed off and whipped out his clipboard. His eyes quickly scanned it and he reported, mildly surprised, "It appears that the Zoo is receiving a few new animals from Antarctica. On short notice too, since this notice came in from yesterday afternoon."

"Antarctica?" Skipper stopped in front of Kowalski with wide eyes at this new information. "No...It can't be. They finally did it!" He tossed his mug of fish coffee away with its contents flying onto the ground in a mess they would have to clean up later. Skipper began to make quick and small anxious circles in the middle of the room.

"Did what?" Private asked with worry.

"Leopard seals," Skipper answered lowly, clenching his flippers together in ball shaped forms. "They've allowed leopard seals into our own Zoo!"

"Actually Skip-" Kowalski tried to speak but was cut off from Skipper's paranoia.

"We have to stop this from happening!" the flat-headed bird hollered frantically. "Rico, prepare the explosives!"

"Okay!" the psychopath grunted enthusiastically from across the room. He eagerly started to eat a pile of fish for breakfast, anxious to get his heavy artillery ready.

Kowalski appeared next to Skipper's side and announced blankly, "Skipper, it's not leopard seals."

This stopped the paranoid penguin immediately. "Oh. So what is it then?" he inquired skeptically.

"It may seem obvious at this point since the choices are limited," the second in charge began dully. "But we are receiving more penguins into our habitat."

"No kaboom?" Rico groaned in which Kowalski shook his head, causing a sigh of disappointment from the maniac.

The Brit jumped up in glee. "Really? We're getting more penguins?" The chubby avian clapped his flippers together enthusiastically. "How exciting!"

Skipper suddenly slapped the overly cheery penguin, gripped Private's head, and hollered, "No, this is even worse!"

Private stared in confusion. "I beg your par-"

"They could be spies!" Skipper cut off and released Private. He walked a few feet away from his team before turning back to look at them. "Observing and watching our every move..." He eyed the HQ suspiciously, eyes flicking side to side warily. "Stealing our secrets..."

"Um..." Rico looked at Kowalski, who simply shrugged with a worried look.

Private stepped forward, gaining his superior's attention. "Skippah, they probably aren't spies."

Skipper narrowed his eyes at the private. "Marlene said the same about that walrus, Rhonda, and look how that turned out!"

"I still wonder where that invention went..." Kowalski muttered to himself more than to anyone.

"Dr. Blowhole," Skipper growled in answer, though it was supposed to be rhetorical. He started pacing again while the other three exchanged glances. "This will compromise everything! Having spies in our own habitat! Well played Blowhole...I swear-" He stopped his rant when an audible thump came from above their heads. He cursed under his breath for not being prepared sooner.

Private jumped in excitement and went up the ladder with Kowalski in tow.

Rico looked to his leader and gestured upwards with his flipper. He grunted questioningly, "New York welcome?"

Skipper nodded with his trademark smirk. "Fantastic idea."

The psychopath laughed manically and hacked up a pair of nun-chucks. Rico did multiple tricks with it but was stopped when Skipper ordered suavely, "Save it for our guests." The two avian birds then promptly went topside in time to see Alice leaving, muttering something about disgusting animals and expenses.

A giant crate that Kowalski was silently examining was placed in the middle of the concrete island. Private watched from a distance, equally silent.

"That's a big crate," Skipper commented suspiciously, rubbing his flipper under his beak. "Just how many penguins are we getting here?" He didn't exactly believe in that 'the more, the merrier' mush. He wasn't about to let any strange penguins' come into their HQ either, not that he would even bother to let them inside. It would just give them a chance to steal whatever they had that was deemed classified.

That was virtually everything.

"From what I gathered, at least four," Kowalski answered slowly, focusing on measuring the crate with a tape measure and recording the results on his clipboard.

Skipper felt his eye twitch. "At least?" he shouted.

Kowalski held his flipper up, a signal to be silent, with the side of his head pressed against the crate. He could hear faint groans and shuffling noises inside, which made him strain his hearing even more to identify what the rising voices were saying.

"Where are we?" a voice groaned drowsily from inside.

"I think we're in some kind of box," a softer voice yawned.

"Well, I can see that!"

There was a moment of silence, causing Kowalski to strain his hearing even more. He thought he could hear something that sounded like hyperventilation, which seemed to grow in volume. The other penguins came to the crate and got into the same position that Kowalski was in. They strained their hearing as well to listen in on the conversation.

"Well, looks like Flora's up," the first voice sighed with annoyance.

"Get me out of here!" a new voice shouted.

There was some angered growling before the crate started to rock from side to side a bit. The boys took a step or two back in surprise and with the faintest trace of fear. Were they really putting JUST penguins into their habitat?

"Relax you two, I was getting to that. I'm not going to be part of this crazy scheme! Duck and cover!" the commanding first voice shouted.

There were some frantic protests from inside the crate, causing the boy's eyes to grow the size of dinner plates. They flipped into the water just as the crate exploded into millions wood chips that scattered everywhere.

Private bobbed up in the water and peered up at the new arrivals. Four female penguins now stood on the concrete island with splinters of wood littering in and out of the habitat. They were greedily inhaling the fresh air, sighing in relief of being freed from their confined space.

"Sweet freedom!" a brown feathered female exclaimed and kissed the ground. "No more cramped spaces!"

"You really need to get over that," a silver feathered penguin commented and crossed her flippers over her chest. "You're as helpless as dirt when you freak out."

Private swam a little closer so he could get a better look at what the four girls looked like.

The first one he saw was one that had glossy and bright silver feathers, not the usual black color, which struck him as a bit odd. The female had a snowy white belly and face, not a single feather out of place on her body. Her eyes were amber colored, which stood out over everything. She seemed psychically fit and had a prominent chest, not to mention that she was just a little bit shorter than him.

Private's gaze wondered to another nearby female.

This one had a red and white baseball cap backwards on her head with overgrown feathers poking out from under it, notably were three overgrown, feathery bangs. She had ebony colored feathers and a white belly and face that were ruffled in various places. Most of the unkempt feathers were at the chest area that was only slightly prominent. She was just at Rico's height if you didn't count his mohawk and she had ocean blue eyes to match. There was also a visible pinkish scar on her left flipper where feathers had long stopped growing from.

Right next to that bird was the same penguin that had been kissing the ground earlier.

The female's feathers were brown, not entirely unusual for a penguin but he had never seen it before. Her belly feathers were a creamy color, not white like the others. A particularly large overgrown bang of feathers, which carried a white daisy flower, rested on her head, covering the tip of her left eye that was a milky chocolate brown. She was just at Rico's height, if you counted his Mohawk.

The last one of the four made his pupils dilate and his eyes widen to their fullest extent. This penguin he found to be _very_ pretty.

She had ebony colored feathers, a grey tinted belly and bright teal colored eyes that sparkled in the light, to him at least. Her feathers were smoothed out and had an almost glossy look to them to only add to his fantasy. She was just a bit shorter than the silver penguin but not by much. She was actually rather thin and a bit ruffled in different areas but still adorable all the same time.

Private climbed up onto the concrete island and decided to greet the four females. "Um...hello?"

All four heads whipped to Private's direction with their eyes widening in alarm.

The silver penguin suddenly hollered, "Get him!"

The next thing Private knew was that four penguins had him pinned to the ground.

"State your business!"

With that impression, Private grew fearful of these new animals. "I-I w-was j-just g-going to w-welcome all of y-you to the Z-zoo," Private stuttered with nervousness at their sudden hostility.

"Zoo?" The smallest penguin titled her head in confusion, blinking her teal eyes in a perplexed gesture. Her eyes then expressed distress and she looked at the silver penguin next to her. "Is that true? Are we in a Zoo?"

_'Even her voice is pretty,'_ Private thought absentmindedly and smiled more then necessary, which went unnoticed.

The silver penguin nodded in conformation. "We got transferred here."

The female with a baseball hat growled in distaste but confusion and worry was lit in her eyes.

"Why?" the tallest asked, clearly confused. "I don't see much of a motive to it."

"Because of a-" the silver female was about to answer but was interrupted.

"Get off Private!" Skipper shouted as he, Rico and Kowalski finally got out of the water.

Not that any of the three would mention it, but they had been just as mesmerized by the girls as Private had been, more out of surprise then anything, at least that's what they told themselves. In fact, they had been struck dumb and probably still were. Rico nearly drooled a river while Kowalski had stiffened and gained a goofy grin, though he had quickly composed himself, being a man of science and all. Skipper was just shocked at this, like he hadn't expected them to be girls much less pretty female penguins'.

The tallest female whispered something, but Private didn't catch it. All four of the girls then got off of him, and he was lifted off the ground by the one with the red and white baseball cap. She growled at him and snickered as he quickly retreated behind Skipper. She was scolded by the silver female, irritating the intimidating bird.

"Who are you four?" Skipper demanded suspiciously and pushed Private away from behind him.

"Why should I tell you?" the silver avian growled.

Skipper narrowed his eyes at her with accusation, and she returned it with fiery anger. Simply stated, they didn't like each other.

The smallest penguin tapped her shoulder and whispered, "Maybe we should tell them. We did tackle the cute little guy." She pointed to Private and gave the seemingly leader a sad puppy dog face. But when that didn't seem to influence her, she added quietly, "If we make friends then they could help us get back home."

The leading female sighed in defeat and looked back at the suspicious males. "Ok, fine. I'm Amber, commanding officer of my companions here," she announced grudgingly.

"Commanding officer?" Skipper scoffed with a smirk. "A _female_?"

Amber's body tensed with hardly controllable rage, but she tried to retain a calm look. She was failing miserably. This didn't pass anyone.

Kowalski coughed awkwardly and whispered to Skipper, "Maybe it would be ideal to not anger our guests?"

Skipper rolled his eyes at this.

Amber shoved the smallest one forward and made a gesture for her to introduce herself.

"Oh right. I'm Sara," she introduced with a giggle. "Sorry for tackling you," she apologized sincerely to Private.

The cadet rubbed the back of his head with a sweet but still awkward smile. "Oh, I-it's fine."

"And this-" Amber began and the brown penguin was shoved forward, who had been trying to inch away, "-is my second in command, Flora." She smirked at the nervousness emitting from her, finding some kind of amusement in it. Both knew how terrified she was of attention, not to mention new animals. Well, she'd get use to them eventually, if not soon.

Flora shuffled her feet nervously, not quite meeting the gazes of Skipper's team. "Hi," she said shyly and timidly hid behind Amber, silently scolding herself for being afraid.

"And meet our friend here, Madison." Amber patted the silent penguin's back. "She can't talk, since she's mute and stuff. We don't know why but it's not like she could tell us."

Madison frowned and stared at the ground, kicking an imaginary rock.

Private quickly decided to direct their attention. Sure, they might've attacked on sight, which he believed was to be out of defense, but he didn't want his guests to be upset. "Hello, it's nice to meet you! I'm Private," he greeted cheerfully.

Skipper reluctantly announced who he was. "Commanding Officer, Skipper."

Kowalski took a step forward to grab the girl's attention as he reported officially, "I'm first Lieutenant Kowalski, Serial Number eight-six-zero-niner-bravo-alpha-mega-niner. Greetings and welcome to our habitat," he said while gesturing to the enclosure itself. He attempted a grin and got hot underneath his feathers. The idea of having females in their home made him nervous. He didn't know a thing about women.

"Rico!" the psychopath exclaimed with his flippers flapping around enthusiastically. He already liked the girls, considering he hadn't seen another female of his species in a long time. He smiled when the silent one of the four met his eyes, smiling briefly herself, before slowly dragging her eyes back down to the floor, frowning again.

All the females seemed amused, except Amber, who was watching Skipper with strong dislike, which he returned.

"So where are we sleeping?" Amber asked blankly and ignored the looks she got from Sara and Flora.

Skipper scowled and made a gesture to his men, bringing his boys into a group huddle. "They sleep outside," he stated bluntly.

"Skippah!" Private exclaimed quietly, already objecting to Skipper's intentions. "We shouldn't do that!"

"I agree with Private on this one Skipper," Kowalski added before his leader could object. Upon noticing the look his commanding officer gave him, he explained, "They _are_ our permanent guests until further notice. It wouldn't be right to treat them like that."

"Yeah!" Rico agreed with a quick nod.

Skipper looked at his team and sighed in defeat after a moment of thinking. "Fine, they can sleep in our HQ." The four broke the huddle and looked back at the females, who were watching them intently. He found that suspicious but tried not to show it. "Follow me," Skipper grumbled and gestured for the girls to follow him.

Reluctance in their steps, the girls followed Skipper to the fishbowl. He pushed it aside with his foot before jumping in.

"After all of you." Private stepped aside and allowed the four to jump in too.

Sara flashed him a smile before disappearing inside after Amber and Flora. Madison paused and gave Private an almost apologetic look, though it looked forced, as if she had been told to do this, before she hopped down into the hatch after her friends. When they had gone down, Kowalski, Rico and Private promptly joined them by the ladder.

"Rico, carve out some bunks for our guests," Skipper commanded instantly as his other men gathered behind him and made a gesture to the wall adjacent to their bunks, just about across from theirs more specifically.

Rico then hacked up some carving tools from his endlessly spaced gut and smiled crookedly at them all.

"What the-?" Amber yelped and backed away. Flora's eyes widened, as did Sara's, and the brown avian backed behind Madison. The mute bird was in awe, eyeing Rico with new found interest. The psychopath laughed and waddled off to a wall nearby and prepared his tools.

Skipper smirked. "You'll get used to it. Maybe."

"That doesn't even fit in there..." Flora murmured to herself.

Rico was about to carve out the bunks, but he paused when he noticed his doll in the corner. He glanced at the girls then back at his doll. He frowned and looked back at the girls again; noting Madison was staring at him with curiousity. She quickly averted her gaze when he caught her. Rico felt a feeling in his gut that made his heart pound against his chest. Something compelled him to put the doll in a closet where no one would find Ms. Perky and then set off to make the bunks again.

"Would you like a tour of the Zoo?" Private asked Sara politely.

Sara jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh yes!" She turned to Amber and asked if they could.

Amber blinked dully. "No."

But Sara wouldn't take no for an answer, not today. "Please?" she pleaded with a puppy dog look. It took a while, but Amber caved in since she wouldn't stop saying please. It was going to get really annoying if she didn't permit it soon.

"Alright, alright, we can go for a tour."

Flora smiled a bit and came a little out in the open, with Madison smirking, as Sara did a little dance of happiness. Amber subconsciously smiled and thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Her thoughts changed when she noticed the look Skipper was giving her. _'But we still got to get out of this place,'_ she thought as she and Skipper both exchanged a glare.

She doubted they would ever get along.


	4. Ending Tour

Skipper and Private were in charge of the tour and were leading everyone, minus Rico, around the Zoo as they either introduced them or pointed out habitats and places. Kowalski was in the back, talking and commenting to the girls as the tour progressed. They had just finished showing the girls the baboons and the reptile house. Madison took a liking to Darla's dancing and she gleefully joined them till Amber forcefully dragged her away. Sara had been terrified in the reptile house and insisted they had to leave by the time they passed a snake. Otherwise, the girls were doing fine with the tour and appeared to be enjoying themselves. Joey, the lemurs and Marlene were the only ones left to be seen. They were saving the worst for last and were going to have Marlene be the stress reliever. Hopefully, this wouldn't go horribly wrong.

"And this is Joey's pen," Skipper announced as he made a gesture to said habitat. He was not about to introduce them to that tempered marsupial. That was like committing suicide.

"He's a kangaroo!" Private added.

Kowalski looked at the girls that were at his side and advised, "I would suggest avoiding him at all costs. That marsupial has a temper that one would not want to be tangled up in. He has a record for beating anyone to trespass his enclosure's grounds."

Flora looked a bit disturbed. "He's _that_ bad?"

The strategist cringed as he nodded his head, subtly leading the girls away from walking into a wall. "I admit that we have difficulty holding up our own against him."

Amber snorted. "I bet we could take him on," she stated with a smirk, some swagger swaying in her steps and hips.

Sara and Flora looked unsure as well as Kowalski. They shared doubtful glances that the girls gave with a shrug. Madison, however, looked just as confident and chuckled lowly at the thought of beating up a kangaroo.

"I highly doubt that considering the calculated odds," the avian strategist scoffed as he whipped out his abacus, hitting the beads aside as he calculated the chances of them beating Joey. "There's a low chance of surviving that scenario."

Flora leaned over to get a glimpse of Kowalski's abacus. "Nice abacus," she commented with a half-smile. She secretly admired his noticeable intelligence and she found herself grinning up at him. "I'm guessing you don't have a calculator then, correct?"

Kowalski rubbed the back of his head as he hid the contraption behind his back. Sheepishly, he admitted, "I did… but then Rico destroyed it with a hammer."

"Is he the same guy that is carving out our bunks?" Sara piped up, earning a nod from Kowalski. "Is he…dangerous?" she asked nervously, remembering his psychotic look and ability to hack up such random objects. If she had a lip then she would have been biting it.

There was a snort as Kowalski chuckled. "Yes but I don't believe you would have to worry about him. He's just obsessed with violence and explosions. Keep in mind that he really is a good penguin if you look past his insanity." He gestured to himself, Skipper and Private as he said, "We all are."

"What's going on back there?" Skipper called out, noticing the penguins behind him had been gradually slowing down. There was a large gap between the two groups.

"Nothing of significance Skipper," Kowalski reported and ushered the girls so that they were walking next to Skipper and Private. Then, at the corner of his eye, he noticed a gray shape zip by in a blur. He turned his head in that direction and hummed suspiciously. When he looked back, a certain lemur jumped in front of them all, making him let out a high-pitched scream.

"Hello tuxedo birds!" Julien greeted as he threw his arms out.

Amber shrieked out of surprise and swiftly kicked him in the face with a roundhouse. This sent the lemur flying backwards toward the penguin habitat with a scream. Lovely way to say hi, don't you think?

Skipper blinked his eyes in surprise, impressed. "Nice roundhouse," he complimented Amber quietly, though he hadn't meant to.

She simply snorted and turned her head away, crossing her flippers over her chest.

Rico had just finished making the bunks for the girls and had, unfortunately, jumped out of their habitat at the wrong place and at the wrong time. He was right in the ring-tailed lemur's path and saw him at the last second, making him hold out his flippers in an attempt to defend himself, though it was in vain. Julien slammed against Rico's body, and they crashed painfully against the metal bars.

"Rico!" Skipper slid on his belly to the two shapes that were against the penguin's habitat bars.

The psychopathic penguin laughed softly with his tongue hanging out of his beak and his eyes rolling in their sockets.

"Rico, speak to me man! How many fingers?" Skipper asked as held up a flipper.

"Technically Skipper, we don't have fingers," Kowalski corrected as everyone joined up with Skipper. Everyone was looking at Rico in worry, dismissing the lemur next to him. "Something anatomy has vexed us with."

The commanding officer rolled his eyes. "Fine, how many flippers?" Skipper held up another flipper.

Kowalski leaned in for a hint and whispered helpfully, "It's a trick question."

Rico laughed dizzily and babbled nonsense. A goofy grin was plastered on his face with his tongue hanging out loosely.

Sara rubbed the back of her head, confused. "I didn't get any of that."

"I take it he got it wrong?" Flora put out, shrugging.

Julien, by this time, was getting up and brushing himself off, looking cross. "How DARE you kick da king at the up chucky penguin!" the ring-tailed lemur bellowed angrily at the silver penguin as he rudely poked her chest.

Amber raised a non-existent eyebrow, slapping his hand away. "King?" she questioned blankly. She noticed he had a leafy crown resting on his head but that didn't convince her that he was royalty. Maybe he was some kind of delusional mammal instead.

The ringtail did find Amber to be pretty but, considering she had kicked him right in the face, he found no interest. That's when he noticed the other girls. "Oh yes, now I remember what I came here for," he purred and looked at Skipper as he asked, "So, ah, who's your new lady friends?"

This made Skipper glare.

"Back off lemur!" Amber growled threateningly, balling up her flippers in fist like shapes as she stood in front of her girls. This was something she was never welcome to, flirting. Whether it was to her or not, she found it sickening. If you did it to her girls then she was going to knock some heads.

"I am da King! I do whatever I want to be doing!" He crossed his arms over his chest. Amber mimicked him. He narrowed his eyes; she did the same. He stomped his foot in anger; she only stomped her foot too. "Stop doing that!" Julien yelled.

Amber found his annoyance funny and chuckled, restraining herself not to let out a bark of laughter unlike Madison, who was. Flora had a small grin on her face and, she too, was chuckling. Sara, however, was frowning. Madison only gained Julien's attention with her laugh, and he moved himself toward her.

"So, what about you baby? Surely you want to be with da king!" Julien said, attempting to flirt as he tipped his crown a bit forward. She was pretty in a…rough sort of way.

Madison stared at him with a confused expression and slowly blinked at him. It was obvious that she didn't really know when someone was flirting with her, according to her bemused look, even if it was bluntly obvious. No one had ever flirted with her before, which there probably was a good reason for that.

"Eh, what's wrong with you? Don't you know how to do da talking?" he asked, eyeing her skeptically, getting far too close in her personal space bubble.

Madison narrowed her eyes into a deep scowl. He hit a nerve right there.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Sara told him quietly but was ignored. She was pulled away as Amber gave her a look that said 'don't ruin this.'

Amber was trying not to smile and hid it with her flipper. If Julien was to get on Madison's bad side just enough… it was going to be a funny show.

Julien, being one who didn't understand personal space, started prodding and poking Madison to get her to speak. Madison narrowed her eyes to a more intense glare and growled at him to stop, pushing him away only to have him bounce right back.

Flora and Sara exchanged a look and smiled slightly. Julien was getting close to making her blow a fuse.

Skipper, Kowalski and Private were watching with mixed emotions at the scene. They weren't sure how to feel actually. Kowalski sensed that this was going to end badly but he watched with curiosity, wanting to see how it would play out. Private didn't like witnessing this flirting at all and found himself covering his eyes. Skipper was just pissed that Julien was bugging them, period.

Rico, who had recovered from the hit, glared at Julien as well. He didn't particularly like the fact that Julien was flirting with Madison. The weapons expert didn't know why but he had found an immediate liking to the mute bird, though he didn't understand why he felt so weird about it. All he knew was that he didn't want Julien flirting with her, whether she was fine with it or not.

Julien was starting to 'woo' her with some pickup lines by this time, yet he could've dug a little deeper. "Hey baby, are you from Tennessee? Cause you're the only ten I see!" He laughed and said aloud to himself, "Oh, that's a good one!"

Madison was full of fiery anger and annoyance by this point, and her flipper was shaking with resistance to punch him. She slapped her flipper over her face, slowly drawing it down with an annoyed groan.

Julien then poked her stomach. "Oh, look at you! So chubby that it is almost cute!"

That just crossed the line.

Madison whipped out a random baseball bat, hitting it lightly against her other flipper as she growled.

"All of you might want to take cover," Amber informed all the penguins, noticing Madison's twitching eye, as she led Flora and Sara to a nearby bench.

The lemur looked up, confused, while Madison held a wicked grin as she chuckled lowly. She knew what was going to happen next, and she was going to have a lot of fun with it. The girls didn't hesitate, but the guys seemed more suspicious.

"What's going on?" Skipper asked skeptically, eyeing the female commanding officer wearily.

Amber winked at him. "Oh, you'll see."

Skipper rolled his eyes but pushed his men toward a nearby garbage can anyway. He was going to take her word for it this one time and this one time only! "Might as well..." he grumbled as he leaned against the trashcan, watching the scene unfold before him and his team.

The mute bird held the bat like it was a treasure. A wicked grin was spread on her face as she eyed Julien with a look that said, 'you had this coming.' Her ocean blue eyes were swirling with destructive passion in a chaos of her violent and aggressive soul. She pulled the bat back in her batter up position with a chuckle rumbling at the back of her throat.

"Uh, what are you going to be doing with dat?" Julien asked nervously, taking some steps back.

Madison laughed maniacally. She picked up Julien and flung him in the air and as he came falling down, screaming; she swung her bat. He was hit on his rear end and was sent flying back toward his habitat. She had her flipper over her eyes as she watched him go. What she liked the most about this was his screaming and the satisfaction of knowing that he wouldn't be bothering her again.

The guys were surprised at this, though they should've seen it coming. Skipper and Rico were the only ones of their team to find it funny but Rico was the only one chuckling, trying not to laugh too loud. The girls soon started to laugh and came to the point where they couldn't speak.

"We should go to the lemur's habitat. There's at least one decent lemur there," he said once the girls and Rico had calmed down. The commanding officer wouldn't admit it but he was feeling some respect towards the females. Some. Not a lot. That didn't mean he liked them. Well...maybe a tiny bit.

"Oh! Let's go Amber!" Sara tugged her leader's flipper toward the lemur habitat.

"I dunno, maybe we could-AH!" Amber yelped as Sara started dragging her to the habitat. The silver bird's eyes were narrowed eyes, with her flippers crossed over her chest, as Sara pulled her by the foot to the lemur's enclosure.

The guys laughed at the scene and went after the two, drastically slower.

Flora giggled in amusement and laid a flipper on Madison's back, gently pushing her friend forward. The only reason she did this was because Madison wouldn't stop laughing. She rolled her eyes and confiscated the bat that her mute companion somehow managed to find and tossed it away.

Madison finally managed to stop laughing and picked up her speed, yanking Flora with her.

In the lemur habitat, the penguins didn't get through one second in that habitat before Julien started ranting and shouting at them. He had already kicked Mort away from his feet five times.

"I demand an apology for the smacking of the booty!" the ring-tailed lemur yelled.

They came here to introduce the girls to the other lemurs, but Julien had been shouting at them since they had gotten there. Not the ideal tour.

"I am the King, which means I have diplomatic immunity," Julien complained further. "And the King's smoothie maker is all brokeny because of that stinky water bird!" he accused as he referred to Madison.

_'Well, then you shouldn't have landed on it_,' Amber thought to herself bitterly, holding a flipper to her throbbing temple. '_Ugh, headache.'_

Maurice sighed from where he was at the tiki smoothie stand. He was making smoothies with his hands and feet now. He never got a break.

"Is he always like this?" Sara whispered to Private.

"What do you mean?" he whispered back.

"Does he always complain?"

"Yes but I think Maurice suffers from it the most," Private admitted.

"Poor Maurice...Which one is Maurice?"

"That one." Private pointed to a gray aye-aye lemur squishing a mango.

"Oh!" she sighed. '_Poor guy. Does he suffer from this every-day?'_ She giggled quietly when she saw a small lemur try to take a mango from Maurice. The older lemur pulled it out of his grip and started squishing the mango once more. "Who's that?" she pointed to the small lemur.

"That's Mort," Private told her.

Kowalski added, "He has an abnormal obsession for feet. Don't worry, he prefers Julien's feet."

Sara shivered. That was a bit disturbing.

Flora and Madison hurtled into the habitat at that moment.

Julien screamed girlishly when he saw Madison and ran toward his bouncy. He jumped on it, only to be flung back where he had been standing a second ago. He landed on his belly on the concrete with a thump. "Ouchies," he whimpered.

Madison and Rico both chuckled and snickered.

"Where were you two?" Amber demanded sharply with bitter annoyance. She looked ready to explode from her low tolerance rate. The lemur had put her in a bad mood, not that she wasn't in one already.

Flora and Madison shared a glance.

"We just got a little held back is all," Flora explained vaguely. Honestly, she didn't want to make a big deal over something so insignificant. Amber's temper usually made it appear much more important and significant than it really was. The problem with that was that it almost always happened.

This time, however, Amber looked indifferent. "Don't do it again," she ordered simply, though it made Flora flinch from the sharp and icy edge Amber's tone held.

"Right…"

Maurice then walked over, wiping his hands with a towel. "Hey," he greeted half-heartedly. He was tired from squishing all that fruit just to give Julien a smoothie. The self-proclaimed lemur king was, by this time, perched on his throne, contently sipping at his smoothie. "I'm Maurice."

"Oh, an aye-aye!" Flora exclaimed and rushed over to Maurice. She stared intently at his eyes, getting a bit to close in his personal space. The downside about spending so much time in Antarctica, you only got to see many different types of animals. "Fascinating," she murmured as she clutched his head. "Tell me, is the female of your species more dominant then the males?" she asked as she curiously felt his ear. "I don't trust what humans claim to now about us animals."

Maurice pushed Flora away with a disturbed expression. '_Oh great, another braniac_,' Maurice thought sarcastically. '_Its official, every penguin is psychotic…or creepy.'_

"Pardon Flora's actions," Sara piped up as she gently pulled the brown feathered bird away.

"She's just really into this kind of stuff," Amber told him with a smirk. She considered it amusing that this lemur was feeling uneasy just by Flora.

Skipper eyed Flora wearily. She seemed intelligent…that could prove to be a threat. He otherwise dismissed her and looked at the aye-aye. "Maurice, these are the newest residents of our Zoo. Amber, Flora, Sara and Madison," he introduced as he pointed each girl out.

Private added excitedly, "They're from Antarctica." He recalled from earlier that Sara had said that they were when they had left the reptile house. Honestly, he thought that placed sucked.

"Humans picked you up?" Maurice guessed.

Amber nodded bitterly. "They shot us with darts! We were perfectly fine back there."

"I care to disagree," Flora whispered silently to Sara, who nodded with a cringe.

"Not the feet!" Julien shouted suddenly and the next thing they knew, Mort was flying across the Zoo.

Sara gasped as she saw Mort fly over their heads. "Why would you kick him?"

Madison, however, found the cruelty of it hilarious and started to laugh. She muffled it by the time Julien bothered to speak.

"Because you can't touch the royal feet's. Besides, have you seen Mort? He's just so disgusting it makes my royal eyeballs burn!" Julien pointed to his eyes in indication, rolling them in their sockets.

"Well, that's not very nice." She turned to look at Private. "Not very polite is he?"

Flora had her flippers covering her beak. "Oh my…will he be alright?" she asked Kowalski worriedly, referring to the recently kicked mouse lemur.

"Yes," Kowalski said with a nod, momentarily forgetting he was talking to a female penguin. "His stupidity has given him halo of ignorance that prevents him from feeling pain. It would come in handy on missions if it weren't for the stupidity that would endanger it."

"Interesting…you'll have to give me more details later," Flora said as she smiled up at him, blinking her chocolate brown eyes up at him.

That smile did wonders to Kowalski's nerves. He felt his face heating up as he let a stupid grin appear on his face. "Oh, y-yeah, I-I can do….that."

Mort came running by at that point, rushing in-between the two intelligent penguins. He attempted to run up the throne to the 'royal feet' but Madison grabbed him by his head, though his feet kept running in the air.

Amber pointed a flipper in the mouse lemur's face and said, "For your own good, I suggest you don't cuddle those feet."

Mort felt tears well up in his eyes.

The silver commanding officer stepped back and blinked in surprise, clearly not have been expecting such a reaction. "What? What did I say?"

Madison inhaled and exhaled, rolling her eyes upwards from her low tolerance. She literally tossed Mort up at Julien, causing the monarch to cry out in surprise before angrily tossing the 'pest' away. He got some good distance in his throw too.

"MY CAR!"

Amber face palmed and shook her head with closed eyes. "Is that all of the animals?" she growled lowly. '_Cause I want to go back to our new habitat,_ she added silently. She rubbed her temple to get rid of the pounding headache she recently acquired.

"Well, there is one last animal you girls haven't seen yet," Skipper admitted.

"Marlene! She's an otter, you girls will like her!" Private added. He bounced over the wall toward the habitat eagerly with the others promptly following after him. Sara was trying to catch up with him so she could ask about this 'Marlene'.

After dodging minor obstacles, they soon reached the otter habitat walls and hurtled over them.

Flora looked at the habitat with a soft, small smile. It looked nice and comfy. She felt the soft grass underneath her feet, savoring the feeling. The water was a clear pool with not a single leaf to disrupt it. There was a large gray cave in the middle that took up a majority of the space and a couple of rocks, trees and bushes that decorated the Asian Otter habitat nicely.

"Hey guys! Who are they?" an otter asked, who Flora assumed to be Marlene.

"AH! Duck and cover!" Amber screamed as the otter jumped out into the open.

Out of habit, Flora and Sara obeyed and jumped into the bushes with a scream.

This struck the otter as a bit odd. She mentally groaned at the thought of having another group of commandos in the Zoo. Well, at least they're girls. "What's their deal?" Marlene asked with her brief alarm turn into confusion.

"They're not good with, uh, greeting's," Skipper explained awkwardly.

Sara slowly stepped out of the bushes after she realized that Marlene was no threat. She hesitantly drew closer like a classic scared animal till she was a meter away from the otter. "Um, hello there," she greeted shyly. Honestly, she was a bit embarrassed.

"Aw, you're so cute!" Marlene complimented on sight.

Sara looked bashful as she trailed her foot in a circle. "Oh, um, thanks!"

Flora popped her head out of the bush with a skeptical look on her features. Amber, who was hidden behind a tree, looked over with her eyes wide from that little scare of hers. Madison was out of sight from everyone however.

"These are the girls." Skipper gestured for them to come over. They lined up instinctively but quickly noticed Madison was gone. "Hey, where is the other one?" Skipper looked into the bushes with his men and the girls doing the same as they searched the habitat.

Suddenly, they looked up when heard laughing coming from a tree. Madison was hanging upside down on a tree branch with her tongue lolled out as she swung back and forth on the branch for her own entertainment. The world was so much different when you were upside down.

Amber smacked her flipper against the bark of the tree in an act of annoyance. "Madison, get down here!" she commanded.

Madison reluctantly swung out of the tree and gracefully landed right in front of Marlene for closer inspection. She lifted Marlene's arm and circled her for a moment in her brief examination before stepping away, grinning at the otters disturbed look. Simply stated, she had never seen an otter before.

"Hi?" Marlene waved, a bit unsure of these new females' now. They were…odd.

Madison grinned broadly and waved back. She did a double back flip and landed next to Amber, just to show off. She got slapped upside the head as a result of her actions which made her frown.

Skipper narrowed his gaze. Obviously, they've had some form of training. He already had his suspicions when Amber had claimed she was a commanding officer. He saw them all as a potential threat. Blowhole had a weird game this time.

"Uh, h-hi," Flora stuttered nervously as she acknowledged the otter. It wasn't any different than when she had met the other animals.

Marlene found herself smiling, all friendliness returning as she forgot their oddity. "Hey there! So welcome to the Zoo!" she greeted, throwing her arms to the side for emphasize. This made Sara and Flora giggle in amusement. The pretty mammal leaned in and whispered so the boys couldn't hear, "If any of you ever need some girl talk or need to get away from the guys, come on over." Marlene spoke in her normal volume as she said, "Feel free to drop by anytime!"

Marlene knew that they couldn't do things like braiding fur but they could always do other stuff besides gossiping. Swimming was still an option, so she kept her hopes up.

"This is Amber," Sara said as she pointed to her silver leader. "Then this is Flora and Madison," the naïve penguin introduced, pointing to said penguins in indication. "And I'm Sara."

"Well, you probably know already but I'm Marlene," the Asian Otter said with a lighthearted smile.

Flora forced away her stutter. "We will keep in mind of your offer for a future date. I offer my thanks."

"Oh, you're welcome." She said quietly under her breath, "I think."

"It was nice meeting you Marlene," Sara said cheerfully with a wide grin.

Marlene grinned also. "Nice to meet you four too."

Deciding it was best to leave then, the guys waved and said their good-byes before they hurtled out of the habitat with the girls not too far behind. They had a short walk back to their habitat before they had to jump over the metal railing, landing on their concrete floe easily.

Skipper opened the fish bowl for the others, but he stopped Amber. Unlike the others, he had noticed that she had gotten a pounding headache since their second encounter with Julien. It's not like he _cared_ or anything. It's just that, well, he just wanted to be a good host. "You want aspirin?" he asked.

Amber slowly smiled at him, allowing herself to accept his generosity. "That'd be awesome," she replied as she jumped down the hole. Skipper jumped down as well and immediately went to get aspirin for Amber so she wouldn't bust a fuse.

Inside, Rico was busy making sushi for dinner; Kowalski was explaining the rules of the HQ, and Private was setting up the girls bunks with blankets and pillows. Skipper put the aspirin tablet into the water filled mug, one of his spares, and let it sit for a second before he gave it to Amber. She nodded her thanks and took a grateful gulp. She already felt better.

Rico served everyone his freshly cut sushi, specifically yellow-fin tuna. He sat down afterwards, wolfing down his fish. The female penguins were doing the same, though with more gusto, since they rarely got this much food. This didn't disturb the guys…much at least.

"That's good Ahi," Flora mumbled with a beak full of fish. She may have forgotten her manners. "Rico, you're amazing with a blade."

Amber hummed in agreement and grinned at Rico. Food tended to put her in a good mood. "I admit that this is the best fish I've ever had. You, my friend, have a gift. Best knife skills, _ever_!"

Madison and Sara nodded their heads quickly in agreement, being too busy stuffing their faces with the succulent sushi.

Rico blushed underneath his feathers from the flattery and waved his flipper in feign dismissiveness. "Aw, shucks!"

Kowalski chuckled. It wasn't as odd having girls in their home as he had originally thought. He liked them.

Private grinned at the girls. He liked them too. "Rico has been practicing his knife skills."

The weapons expert not so subtly stretched his flippers out to show off his 'muscles', which made Flora, Madison and Sara giggle in amusement. He then wiped his flipper on his chest as he grunted, "Yup." Rico smirked and winked, leaning against the table.

Amber, Skipper and Kowalski rolled their eyes at this but the other girls were laughing light heartedly. Private was simply content eating his sushi and smiled, seeing that the girls were settling in nicely.

It was then that Skipper looked up at the time_. '9:58, it's almost lights out_.' He told them the time and, since the girls knew that 10:00 was lights out by now, they knew it meant sleep. Everybody reluctantly went to bed after finishing the last of the sushi.

Skipper watched the girls get settled into their bunks. A smile threatened to come as the ends of his beak twitched. It looked funny on how Madison tried to find a comfy spot in her new bunk, obviously not used to stone. She stopped finally when her head was rolled out of the bunk, and she was lying on her stomach.

Sara grabbed her pillow and cuddled up to it like a teddy bear as Amber pulled the blanket over the little penguin. The female leader patted Sara's head before climbing into her own bunk. She slept on the stone with her flippers holding the back of her head as she laid against her pillow, using the blanket as a spot for her feet.

Flora just turned away, so she was facing the wall, and snuggled up in a ball like shape with a blanket over her body. She got comfortable pretty quick and almost instantly fell into a deep slumber.

Skipper turned off the lights and hopped into his, getting comfortable. He took one last glance at the girls, with his stare lingering on Amber, before he closed his eyes for some needed rest.

Before Rico closed his eyes, he saw Madison take off her cap and place it beside her. Her pretty loose head feathers fell across her face in bangs and messy scatters. He sighed as he got in an awkward position in his bunk and fell asleep like the rest of the team.

* * *

><p><strong>I just had to let Julien get hit with a bat. Please review! I don't think I'm doing a good job, but I love hearing what you guys have to say!<strong>

**Rico: Yeah!**

**Me: OH MY GOD, where did you come from?**

**Rico: *Points to giant hole in the wall* Kablamo!**

**Me: Rico! You're fixing my wall!**


	5. The Little Mission

Sara, who had been in a warm and comfortable slumber, woke up to Amber shaking her awake. Never the one to be disturbed in sleep, she scowled in her sleep. The little bird stubbornly refused to open her eyes and mumbled something along the lines of, "Five more minutes." She felt too tired to do anything but rest. '_Can't they get that I want to sleep?'_ she thought tiredly but bitterly all the same. One shove finally started to get to her, evident when her brow furrowed in annoyance.

"What?" Sara groaned and tried to turn away, but Amber wouldn't let her go back to slumber land.

The silver commander whispered, "You need to get up and be quiet about it. We're going outside for a little mission."

Sara finally opened her eyes and realized it was only midnight. The lights were out and the boys were still sleeping.

Madison and Flora were right behind Amber, waiting expectantly. They looked tired but serious all the same. Before Sara could ask about what was happening, Madison shot over and placed a flipper over her beak in a silencing gesture. She shook her head and gestured to be quiet. The little bird nodded as Madison pulled away. Amber quietly helped Sara out of her bunk till her feet touched the ground. It was an easy task, considering Sara had the bottommost bunk.

Amber quickly gestured for her girls to follow her. She simply walked over to the ladder, not making a sound, unlike her team that had to tip toe and even then their feet made a faint sound with each step. They kept casting looks over at the sleeping penguins, who were sleeping peacefully, out of paranoia, though they were undisturbed by the little noise they were creating.

Sara was fearful and distracted and kept looking back at the bunks, but Madison kept nudging her to get her focus back. Madison pointed towards Amber, who was waiting under the open fishbowl entrance. Amber had placed her flippers together and was ready to toss them upwards and out of the fish bowl entrance. Madison went first, then Flora, and then Sara.

Sara jumped on her flippers like the others did and was flung up through the hatch. She landed squarely on her feet on the concrete island without a problem. From the looks of it though; Madison made it up just fine, but Flora must have landed on her face or something because Madison was desperately trying not to laugh.

The brown-feathered penguin was glaring at the mute bird the whole time, making the corners of Sara's beak twitch upwards in a smile. Madison immediately composed herself when Amber jumped out of the hatch to join them.

Amber brushed herself off after she had caught her balance, pretending to ignore the scowl Flora kept on Madison. She pointed to what the boys had said was Alice's office and nodded her head at her girls, which her team returned harmoniously. They knew what to do: Get to Alice's office undetected.

They jumped across the water and out of the habitat. Amber slid behind lampposts and hid under benches with her team following her as quietly as possible. She made a gesture with her flippers, and the girls responded by sliding on their bellies to the door to Alice's office. Amber jumped up and clung to the door knob, using her flipper to unlock the door, and smiled in satisfaction when she heard a click. It slowly opened, and they slid inside. It was dark in there but the light from the computer was on so they were able to see and navigate through the office, if with a little difficulty.

"Ok Flora, look up boat routes to Antarctica," Amber instructed once they all jumped onto the cluttered wooden desk.

Flora nodded in her acknowledgment and started looking through different sites on the computer by tapping keys on the keyboard.

"Is that what we're doing here then? Are we going back to Antarctica?" Sara asked. The thought got her excited but strangely disappointed at the same time. Complete ambivalence. She wasn't sure what to feel about it actually.

Amber must have noticed her mixed feelings for she said, "Yes. We need to get back to the others as soon as possible."

Sara remembered home. They still had their families there, but the girls were more like their family now. They treated Sara like a little sister, mentoring her in the things they knew. Amber was so protective and strict but was also caring and could even be motherly. Flora taught everyone things that they would bother to pay attention to, one being reading, and was always understanding, a willing listener. Madison was like a big sister. She fought with everyone from time to time, most frequently and usually with her, but she still cared a lot about them. They would do anything to protect each other.

"Amber? I got good news and bad news," Flora said hesitantly after a couple of quiet minutes.

"What's the good news?" Amber asked with a sigh.

Sara listened and looked at the screen intently. A picture of a giant ship was on the screen, along with words that were hard to make out. She could make out 'Antarctica' and 'Storm' though. Flora was teaching her how to read, but she was still trying to understand the basics.

"The good news is that I found a boat that would take us to Antarctica, here in New York."

Sara jumped up and down in excitement and then stopped, realizing that there was still bad news. '_It couldn't be that bad, could it?'_ She was hoping not.

"And the bad news?" Amber sighed and was already cringing, expecting the worst.

"The boat probably won't leave for another six months or so, maybe more, maybe less. Apparently that storm is bad enough to postpone the trip for over five months at the least," Flora muttered. "Possibly a year. It's just a random storm. It came out of nowhere and it hasn't shown any sign of letting up. We won't be going there for a while."

What happened next was a surprise.

Amber threw a pencil at the computer in complete anger. Flora caught it just in time and, if she hadn't, it probably would've broken the screen. Amber smacked her head against the computer monitor, ruffling her usual kempt head feathers. She always seemed to do that kind of thing when she was frustrated, annoyed or angered...she did that a lot.

"A year?" she croaked without lifting her head.

"Unfortunately, yes," Flora sighed. She then tried to make Amber feel better with comforting words, though most of those them were ones that they didn't understand in the slightest.

Sara slumped and sighed quietly to herself, dwelling on the disappointment. She wondered what Madison thought and looked around for the answer, but she didn't see her anywhere. "Where did Madison go?" the little bird asked. The others looked around but there was no sign of her. Sara then noticed that she hadn't seen Madison since they went through the door. She was more annoyed then worried. '_She's always running off! Where could she have gone?' _Sara was even more surprised when she spotted Madison just outside. "Oh, there she is."

The generally mute bird waved to them with a smile on her beak. None of them had a clue to what she was or had been doing. Madison looked non-chalant, like nothing was wrong with the world.

"Come on, let's get back before they notice we're gone." Amber jumped off the table with Flora and Sara at her tail.

They didn't bother questioning Madison, considering they wouldn't get a good answer since she couldn't speak even if she wanted too. They dived into the habitat, landing in a roll, and slowly and quietly went down the fishbowl entrance, constantly giving the boys glances. They cautiously went back into their bunks for some good sleep. Resting was something they needed.

Sara got comfy in a spot as Amber put a blanket over her again, like she had done earlier. A smile was brought on her beak when Amber lightly kissed her forehead but it quickly melted away to a frown. She closed her eyes and thought about home. A large wave of grief and homesickness washed over the young bird. She missed Antarctica, even if they did come just a little too close to death there every once in a while. Still, it made their lives interesting and it kept them on their toes.

Sara snuggled into her pillow as the blissful darkness wrapped around her.

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? A bit short, but hey, it was a tiny mission. Please review!<strong>

**Skipper: Review or else I'll send Rico after you!**

**Rico: *Hacks up chainsaw and laughs manically***

**Me: o_0 You might want to review.**


	6. Day At The HQ

Madison woke up in an unpleasant way that morning. She had fallen off of her bunk which; unfortunately, had been the top one. She grunted and looked up to see Rico standing before her, staring down at her curiously with that possibly hint of worry. She smiled sheepishly as she pulled herself up. The mute bird quickly grabbed her hat that had fallen with her and put it backwards on her head.

Rico smirked with a quiet chuckle before going off to the other side of the HQ.

"Madison, are you ok?" Sara asked as she lazily got out of the bunk while rubbing her sleep filled eyes. She nearly fell over onto the ground as well but she managed catch herself.

Madison nodded faintly and looked up at the bunks to see that Amber, and Flora weren't even in there. She tilted her head to the side in confusion. Where were they? She guessed that they went outside. She jumped towards the ladder and climbed to the top. She poked her head out of the fishbowl entrance slightly, looking around curiously. Sure enough, Amber was up there with…Skipper? Madison raised herself up a little more on the rung so she could see what they were doing and saying.

Amber was glaring at him as she said, "Look, we do things my way. I train with the girls, but I agree to the terms that we will do what we can to entertain the people. Otherwise, we operate the same way we did back home, no exceptions and no interruptions."

Skipper glared at her after hearing those words.

"That's just how we go." She glared back.

Madison shifted her feet. The position she was in was getting uncomfortable.

Skipper's glare hardened but a glint was in his eye this time. "You've made it obvious that your military, sister," he began, further provoking the female before him. "So I'm betting 'your girls' are too. I'm proposing a flipper to flipper combat session to see what you females got." A smirk lined his beak. "But I'm sure my men can beat some helpless girls."

"We are not helpless!" Amber growled. "So bring it on!"

Only once Madison saw Amber get up did she go back down. She jumped over to where Sara was sitting and offered a smile, in a good mood with the knowledge of the future violence ahead. She just hoped Amber didn't notice her spying. It happened once…never again. The younger penguin returned the smile and gestured for her to next to her. Madison relaxed and complied, slumping next to her against the wall.

Rico, who was still groggy, suddenly caught her attention as he rubbed his eyes and yawned, scratching his side as he went to their mini fridge. She waved over to the psychopath that was pulling out some fish for breakfast. He waved back with a wide grin. Madison smiled, got up again, and went over to join him for some breakfast. They were warming up to each other real quick and it had only been two days.

Sara looked around the place curiously, somewhat lonesome. Where was Flora then?

Skipper and Amber jumped into the HQ at that time but Flora wasn't with them. Skipper waddled towards Rico, who was still preparing breakfast, and Madison to join them as well.

Sara then saw Private at the corner of her eye getting out of his bunk. She smiled, happy to have someone to talk to, got up, and merrily skipped over to him. "Morning Private!" she greeted cheerfully.

Private grinned widely when he saw her. "Good morning Sara!" he greeted also. "Do you want to watch something on the telly?" he asked and pointed to said object. Sara nodded happily in response to his request. They waddled over towards the T.V, picking up the remote as they did.

Sara sat down as Private turned it on, announcing that this was his favorite program. She was then in the place of watching a show that Private said was called 'The Lunacorns'. She liked it so far. No. She _loved_ it! Something about a magic hair brush in a magical wardrobe got her to smile. Her thoughts soon drifted off to Flora though, making her frown slightly. '_Where in the world is she? And where's Kowalski?'_

* * *

><p>For some reason, Flora couldn't sleep very well after that 'mission', so she decided to go outside to clear her head. She didn't really pay attention about how loud she was though. All she needed was just fresh air and some time with her thoughts.<p>

She had jumped outside and sat at the edge of little island to think. She had been swinging her feet along the water, staring at the clear liquid. The stars and moon were mirrored in the water as well as the city's lights. A nice cool but warm breeze had ruffled her feathers to only add to her relaxation. She decided to dip her flipper into the water, sending ripples through the pool. It felt nice, so she went to take a swim in it. When she swam through the water it felt like bliss.

Flora hadn't been that care free in the water for a long time, since Antarctica was never a place for that. Usually, she was alert for enemies or predators and, due to a past experience, she was afraid to be in the water alone. So it's simple to why she freaked out when she had heard someone call out her name in the darkness.

"Flora?"

The brown feathered bird had been scared enough to jump up on the island and tackle the unexpected visitor to the ground, which caused a brief struggle till she was towering over the stranger with its appendages pinned. Flora took a good look at it once it was firmly trapped under her. She instantly realized who it was, much to her own embarrassment. "Kowalski? What are you doing?" She had gotten off of him and shook her feathers to rid of the water that clung to them.

"Well, I could ask you the same thing," Kowalski had said almost suspiciously and got back up to his feet.

"I couldn't sleep," Flora had replied simply. She was getting more comfortable around the guys every hour. She adapted easily, which was a good skill to have in her opinion, and Amber thought so too. Still, she was as wary as she looked. "Why are you out here?"

"I heard something, and I thought I would check it out," Kowalski answered simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, but he hardly made it sound obnoxious for her to be upset. Honestly, he was a bit wary of these girls like Skipper was but they seemed nice enough. Besides, he could trust them, right?

Flora had looked at him apologetically. "Well, sorry for springing at you like that." She checked the large clock for a moment to see the time before looking back at him again. "_And_ for waking you up at two in the morning."

"It's alright." Kowalski shrugged as if it was no big deal, hiding an amused smile. His face brightened for a moment. "Do… you want to see something?" he had asked her hopefully but nervously, as if she would be rejecting something absolutely wonderful.

Flora let her own curiosity cloud her judgment and nodded to his request.

Kowalski practically jumped five feet in the air at that. He had grabbed her flipper, brought her back down into the HQ and to the door Skipper said they were not allowed to enter. Kowalski opened it, and helped her back up with a brief apology. "This is my lab!" he had announced dramatically, completing it with an over exaggerated gesture.

She had to do a double-take. '_A lab? I use to have one back at Antarctica!'_ "You have a lab? You're a science guy?" she practically squealed.

He nodded and, though curious, obtained a growing grin. "You like science?"

"Of course I do!" Flora exclaimed. Despite how much she endangered them getting caught by someone if they woke up, she couldn't contain her excitement. "And all _kinds_ of subjects!"

He shushed her and what he said next had gotten Flora even more excited. "Want to see my inventions?" he asked with a high tenor, just as thrilled to find someone who was as interested in science as him. Flora nodded vigorously with the widest grin she ever had since they got here in New York. He had led her into his lab to show off his inventions and that's where they were now.

Kowalski had so far shown her jetpacks, old parts from a spaceship he made, a super ray, a mind switching device, and he just finished showing Flora an invention that had ping pong paddles with jumper cables that were attached to a car battery. It had been made to see if the electricity would hurt Rico. She thought it would, but you never know. Rico was a bit...off.

"And this is my Shrink ray!" Kowalski announced proudly, holding up yet another invention. He seemed elated to share a passion of his, especially with someone else who wouldn't humor him but actually enjoy it as well. He found himself becoming fonder of Flora then he had been before. "Another one of my great inventions I might add."

"Amazing!" Flora was completely awed at what he had made. "Back home, I couldn't build this kind of stuff because I didn't have much material," she admitted. "I pretty much could only do math and small things with chemicals."

"Well, you're welcome in my lab anytime," Kowalski said with warmth and found himself getting flustered when she smiled at him again. He looked like he was blushing under his feathers so he tried to hide it with a clipboard, but it only worked for distracting her.

"You've got a lot of equations." The tall female reached for the clipboard shielding his face and looked through them all. "Oh, you forgot to carry the two here." She pointed out without any thought, skipping curiously through the many pages.

"That's why my spaceship is a wreck," he grumbled to himself with a bit of annoyance but he quickly recovered with a bit of shock. "So you really understand all this math and science?" Kowalski asked in faint surprise. Having interest in it was one thing but understanding it was another.

Flora felt faintly offended that he thought she wouldn't, but even she had to admit that these were complex for most to understand. "Of course! It's my passion!" she announced.

"Mine too!" He put his flipper out at her with an excited grin. "High five for science lovers!"

They happily did a high five, if it was a bit awkward, before settling back down. Flora sat down on a swivel chair and looked through his many equations once more. She would make comments and he would often answer back; otherwise, nodding and humming along as he analyzed her movements. He hesitated before deciding to ask a question that had been bothering him.

"Might I ask…why is your friend's…Amber is her name right?" he asked. He received a nod of conformation so he continued. "Why is Amber's feathers such a…unusual color? We've all been wondering about this oddity."

Flora waved it off. "It's fine, most do." She spun a bit in the chair, a thoughtful look on her expression. "I've never been sure but I know she was born with it, though she hardly talks about, she has told me that much." She frowned a bit. "I do wish she would confess more…a shame she won't for the sake of science."

Kowalski accepted this answer, believing this was the best he would get, and then moved to his next question. "Your species…it's an African penguin isn't it?"

There was a brief hesitation but she nodded. "Yes, yes I am."

"Then why don't you have the particular pattern they have?" he questioned, almost suspicious on her unease at the subject.

She sighed. "It's complicated…" She looked back at the clipboard and was quickly distracted, whether on purpose or not. "You have plans for a time machine?"

Kowalski's ego blinded him yet again and he smiled proudly, if a bit smugly. "Why, yes I do."

"Fascinating," she murmured and went back to studying the contents of the clipboard, analyzing and memorizing every bit of it. After a while of this, Flora felt like she was being watched, so she looked up to see Kowalski with a weird expression, just staring at her. It was...kind of creepy to be honest. "Um, Kowalski? You ok?" Flora asked nervously. His stare was a little bit uncomfortable. She wasn't use to attention and it made her stomach tie up in knots.

Kowalski shook his head and snapped out of it. "Oh yes, of course! I'm just fine," he chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head. He was blushing like mad, and Flora couldn't help but giggle, only making it worse for him. Their time together was interrupted when the door suddenly opened.

Skipper came in. "Kowalski! How did I know you were in here?" He looked at Flora and frowned critically. "And with Flora here? That I didn't know," he muttered, a deep scowl penetrating his non-existent brow. "Flora, breakfast is on the table." A subtly hint to say she had to get out.

Flora's stomach growled. "Thank goodness; I'm starved!" She gave Kowalski his clipboard back and slid out the door without a second thought.

"Why was that dame in here?" Skipper demanded after he closed the door shut.

"I was just showing her some of my inventions," Kowalski answered sheepishly. He still felt the slight heat on his cheeks. '_Why did I stare at her like that? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!' _The strategist unknowingly started to repeatedly smack himself with his clipboard.

Skipper dismissed his actions. "Kowalski, she could be a spy along with the others! How could you just casually show her your inventions?" he demanded and threw his flippers out in a gesture.

"Well, she likes science too," Kowalski mumbled without much thought, though he knew it wasn't a good reason and would only aggravate Skipper. What kind of excuse was that anyway? After all, he knew fully well it wasn't helping his position.

"Kowalski..." The flat headed bird shook his head. "You should know better, you of anyone. I mean, come on, most of this stuff is classified! You can't just show her everything!"

Kowalski was almost afraid the others would hear him. "Skipper, I'm positive they're not spies," he told him confidently but with a soothing edge. It did little to calm his leader down but at least he stopped yelling.

The commanding officer let out an aggravated sigh. "Just don't show her anything else and try to keep the things you did show her quiet. Comprende?" Skipper held out his flipper in an act of simple diplomacy, which was rare.

The tall penguin sighed and shook his flipper. "Ok Skipper," he agreed reluctantly.

The flat headed leader smirked. "Now c'mon, Rico has some freshly cut Ahi on the table."

Kowalski's stomach rumbled, making him realize how hungry he actually was. Now just how long had he been in the lab with Flora? Skipper went to open the door, and they both hastily waddled out of the lab.

Sara and Private were watching 'The Lunacorns', sharing a plate of fish, while Flora sat nearby with her own. Amber was settled down at the table, playing cards with Madison and Rico, with a big plate of fish at the middle of the table.

Skipper went to get his own ahi and salmon while Kowalski simply sat next to Flora, barely minding the kiddie show playing in front of him. He looked at her with a renewed smile on his face, which she returned with a wide grin.

Flora looked at him, then at her plate, then back to Kowalski again. "Would you like some?" she asked politely, holding up a piece of cut fish, specifically salmon.

"Well, it's yours, you can have it." He waved it away.

"Nah, its fine," Flora dismissed with a shrug, smiling softly. "I got a lot, see." She pointed to her plate.

Kowalski just then noticed how much she had. '_Approximately ten fish...she eats a lot doesn't she?'_ Flora held the fish piece back up to his face, silently insisting that he should eat it. Kowalski chuckled and took the piece of delectable fish. He gingerly tossed it into his mouth and sighed in content at the taste, which resulted in Flora giggling, making Kowalski's face heat up again.

This delightful time extended over for a couple of hours, bordering on three. Watching television, eating fish and playing little games like cards or chess. Everyone was comfortable, and they were all enjoying each other's company until a little announcement.

"Ok men, we got to do recon before the Zoo visitors get here," Skipper announced. This earned disappointed sighs from everyone. It did little but make Skipper feel faintly guilty, though he didn't show it.

"Skippah, do we have to?" Private groaned, hardly even wanting to tear his eyes away from the screen.

"Private, you know we have to do recon."

"Sorry Skippah," the young cadet apologized. "But I'm having a good time right here. There's a Lunacorn marathon!" he cheered and glanced at the screen.

Madison and Rico groaned loudly together, only making Amber chuckle and lay down her cards, knowing the game was done for the time being. She was going to win soon anyway.

"C'mon boys!" Skipper encouraged and went topside with his team reluctantly following at his tail.

Sara sighed, clearly disappointed when they left. "Now what are we going to do?" she asked Amber.

"Do what we do every morning…train!" Amber yelled with enthusiasm and posed dramatically just to cheer them up. The girls smiled and went out the fishbowl entrance for some training. They started stretching out in the open and, once they were done, they began punching and kicking the air.

"Punch, kick and-" ***SMACK*** "Oops…" Amber turned around to see Julien holding his nose.

"The royal nose!" Julien cried.

Madison snickered, still carrying a strong distain to Julien. Her commanding officer didn't like him any better.

"What do you want?" Amber groaned, rolling her eyes.

"I was looking for da bossy penguin," Julien answered, stood up and brushed himself off, Maurice and Mort, for once, were not with him.

"He's busy right now, come back later," Amber said bluntly but with a subtle hint in her tone that said, 'Leave and don't bother coming back'.

King Julien wouldn't have that. "I need to be speaking with him now! My smoothie maker is all broken because of that stinky aquatic bird!" Julien yelled as he pointed towards Madison. He paused and brought a paw to his chin. "Then again...I might be needing the brainy penguin's help."

Amber rolled her eyes in annoyance. She looked at Madison, who was making a swinging motion with her flippers and let a low whistle before she made an explosion sound with her colliding flippers. Amber nodded her head in approval with a sly smirk that told a story of pleasure.

Madison laughed diabolically and, before Julien knew what was happening, literally tossed the lemur back to his habitat.

The girls all fell onto the ground laughing as they heard him screaming like a girl when he soared high in the air back over to his habitat. They could be so mean.

* * *

><p>"Hey Skippah, isn't that Julien?" Private inquired curiously as he saw a shape soaring across the Zoo during their early morning recon.<p>

Rico nodded as he heard his girly scream, trying to hide his smile. He wished that he had been the one to inflict that onto Julien but settled with a gleeful, and sadistic, giggle.

Skipper eyed the private carefully. "Private are you seeing things again? Did you have some more peanut butter winkie's!" Skipper questioned, gripped Private's head and examined his eyes with careful suspicion. "You know lemurs can't fly!"

"Unless they develop flying technology, which it highly unlikely due to their lack of intelligence," Kowalski commented and reached for the binoculars, though his statement went unnoticed.

Private shook his head vigorously, escaping Skipper's grip, and denied, "No, I haven't, I swear!"

"Sugar _and_ swearing? I might need to give you maintenance duty soldier."

The strategist picked up the binoculars and looked through them. "Skipper, I think that actually _is _Julien flying. And screaming like a little girl, I might add," the strategist confirmed, snorting back his amusement. He grinned when Rico started to laugh.

"Huh. Interesting." Skipper rubbed the bottom of his beak, hiding a smile.

* * *

><p>"I don't think he'll bother us for a while." Amber sniffed, picked herself up and turned toward her team of girls. "Ok, we're going to fight each other for some real combat practice." She got a positive response of smiles, so she allowed her own and continued her instructions. "Flora you're up against Sara. Madison, you're with me when they're done."<p>

Flora and Sara immediately got into their fighting stances as the two other females backed away to give them room. Madison and Amber sat down at the edge of the island to watch.

"And…" Amber paused for dramatic effect. "GO!" she yelled in signal.

The two fighting penguins circled each other slowly, just waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly, Sara lunged at Flora, who dodged out of the way, but the teal eye colored penguin was just able to hook her flippers around Flora's feet. The female strategist tried to push her off but that made Sara slip into the water while still clinging onto Flora's feet. The young bird ended up pulling Flora down with her into the cold water with a yelp.

"A water fight, nice!" Amber exclaimed in excitement with her mute companion silently cheering. She and Madison waited a few seconds before they saw bubbles coming up from the water. _Something_ was happening down there alright.

Sara was then flung back onto the island, looking dazed but surprised. Flora soon came up afterwards, panting while Sara was still trying to catch her breath. Flora took the opportunity and shot over, promptly putting Sara into a position that she couldn't get out of. Sara kept squirming and then, realizing she was beat; sighed in reluctant loss.

"Good job Flora. Sara, you should react a little quicker." Amber then got up and snapped into a fighting stance. "Now it's you and me Madison."

Madison manically cackled with an evil glint in her eye. She took off her cap and handed it to Flora and, she too, went into a stance. This time, she _would_ beat her leader!

They stood there for what seemed like eternity. Then, quick as a flash, Amber ran toward her heftier soldier and tried to give a hard slap to the cheek. Madison blocked it with her own flipper just in time and chuckled darkly. The angered leader glowered and started to make quick jabs at Madison, but she blocked each one. Madison growled as she swept her foot under Amber's to make her fall over. The mute bird was about to pin her when Amber threw herself at her gut and ended up pinning her down instead.

"Do you give?" Amber smirked confidently.

Madison let out a low growl and shoved Amber away and into the water. She took the time to jump back up and prepare herself for another strike. Her eyes darted side to side in anxious anticipation, waiting for the faintest of movements.

Amber then shot out of the clear liquid pool and smacked right into her, which knocked her into the water. Madison came out as quick as she went in. She tackled Amber, and they tussled on the floe with grunts and growls resonating from the back of their throats.

Finally, Amber had Madison in a position where she couldn't move. Her flippers were pressed forcefully against her back with her face uncomfortable squished on the concrete, possibly forming a bruise on her cheek. Madison struggled and finally, after a long silence, she grunted in defeat.

Amber immediately released her grip. Madison flopped down and panted from the exercise. "Not bad Madison. You're definitely getting better," Amber commented. The silver bird didn't put much effort into the fight but she wasn't about to crush her soldier's spirit by saying that.

Madison simply snorted and allowed Sara to help her up.

After a while of training, stretching and multiple bruises; the guys came back from uneventful recon.

"Did you see Julien flying across the zoo?" Private asked the girls once they came back. "Someone must have hurt him awfully bad."

The girls looked at each other and shared knowing looks.

"Maybe." Amber smirked but this went unnoticed.

Skipper looked at the clock. "Hoover dam! The Zoo is about to open. Cute and cuddly boys!" Skipper jumped into position with the rest of his team and prepared to start their routine. The girls just stood there and didn't move, casting bemused looks.

"Can you do anything that would entertain the visitors?" Kowalski asked skeptically when he noticed their confusion.

The girls exchanged looks, a jumble of mixed emotions.

"I think we can handle that." Amber smirked finally in confidence but, in her core, she deeply loathed the people.

Alice walked over to the gate with her daily work clothes on with that same scowl and bored expression on her face. Key at hand, she came to open the gates for the awaiting visitors so they could look at the animals. They've already heard about the female penguins, so they were the first course.

"That's Alice over there," Private told Sara, pointing toward said Zookeeper.

Sara nodded understandingly. "She doesn't look very friendly," the young female bird commented uneasily.

"She's not. She's a riddle wrapped in mystery and dunked in nasty sauce," Skipper stated ominously.

As soon as Alice opened the gate, tons of people went toward the penguin habitat to see the new female penguins. The red head zookeeper walked away, grumbling something about, 'stupid tour group questions' as a bunch of people followed her from enclosure to enclosure.

"Alright girls, just act…cute," Amber ordered flatly.

Madison growled distastefully and took her hat back from Flora. She put it backwards on her head and flipped into the water, going into a dive at the last second. She didn't want to entertain people. '_Good for nothing things…'_

"I don't think I want to do this," Flora said nervously and backed away with large eyes as the visitors came to the penguin habitat to see the females. The people were staring at her and the other girls for the most part. Flora didn't like the attention.

"Oh, look at the new penguins!"

"What's up with the silver feathers?"

"And that brown one!"

"Should that penguin have a hat?"

"They're so cute!"

Flora took an apprehensive step back and flinched when she bumped into Sara.

"Don't worry Flora, we're right behind you," Sara reassured, placing a comforting flipper on the taller bird's back.

Flora sighed, a bit doubtful. Then an idea formed in her head. _'If I go into the water then I can't see them._' That was bound to help push down her anxiety and fear. She jumped into the water, joining Madison in swimming. They swam through the water and did a couple of tricks in there just to satisfy the people for the time being.

Sara started waddling around and did basic cute poses and would smile and wave like the boys. Amber slid on her belly and would join Sara with cute antics as well. Deep, hateful fire burned in Amber's eyes to the people but she masked it with a large smile and blinked her soulful amber colored eyes at them.

Skipper instructed his men during their routine to do their basic cute antics, sometimes adapting it for a little something new and to work with what the girls were doing. He was currently smiling and waving with Private, who was his usual cute and cheerful self, at his side. He would watch the girls ad-lib their performance but; otherwise, he focused on what he and his men were doing.

"Kowalski, Rico, execute dance maneuvers!"

The two soldiers did as instructed, gaining awes from their audience.

The commando smirked to himself, soaking up the day's rays and scenery. He watched the girls jump and skim through the water, and his men delivering their everyday adorability. The people were clearly enjoying it. _'Today is nice. Good one on you, Mama Nature...'_

Eventually, the Zoo's visiting hours ended, and the people left. To show for the penguins work, they had tons of fish from their wonderful performance. They all laughed as they ate some of the fish they had obtained, the rest to be stored and eaten on some later date.

"Humans think anything is cute," Amber snorted.

Flora looked at Amber after swallowing a fish whole. She risked a grin. "They thought Madison's growling was cute," she laughed.

Madison growled angrily, which only made Flora laugh even harder.

Skipper licked his beak when he finished his daily dose of the sea. "Alright Amber, you promised me a fight," he reminded her warily.

Amber nodded and ate one more fish. "Oh right. Shall we begin?" she asked when she finished.

"Yep! First two up, Sara versus Private," Skipper announced.

"What?" Private and Sara yelped. They were both shocked and weren't aware about what was going on at all. No one had been informed of the fight from earlier, so of course they were surprised, except Madison, who had overheard.

"You. Guys. Are. Fighting. Each. Other," Skipper explained slowly, like he was speaking to young children...or Mort.

Sara sighed. "Well, let's get it over with then," she muttered.

Private couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You actually want to do this?" he squeaked.

"Let's just do it, besides; I want to know what you can do." There was a glint of excitement in her eyes that he never saw before.

He nodded and shakily went into a fighting stance. The others sat down to watch as Sara also got into a fighting stance.

Kowalski abruptly stood up and jumped in between the two but still facing the others. He gestured to the direction Private was in. "On this side of the habitat, weighing at a startling-"

"Hey!" Private whined objectively, a frown on his face.

"Weighing at an unnamed amount pounds," Kowalski continued without fault, using his best announcer voice. "Is Private, the Lunacorn lover!" This caused some laughter which only made Private scowl. "On the other side of the habitat," Kowalski said aloud as he gestured in Sara's direction. "Weighing at a, uh…" He leaned over to Sara and quietly asked how much she weighed. She glared at him and opened her beak to protest but Amber beat her to the punch.

"Never ask a woman her weight!" the silver bird shouted and glared feverously at Kowalski.

"And age," Flora added.

"That too!"

"Weighting at a certain unknown amount of pounds," Kowalski continued. "Is Sara, the small!"

Said penguin frowned a bit. "Am I really that small?" she questioned.

"Not entirely but that's what I'm going," the strategist admitted. He immediately got back into his announcer voice. "And now, I want a good clean fight…_and_ begin!" He jumped away with screech when Rico rang a gong that came from his stomach's endless space, making most of the penguins plug up their ear holes.

Sara didn't hesitate and tackled the surprised penguin. She retaliated immediately by hitting him in the head and shoving him toward the edge of the island, causing him to fall into the water in result. Amber shouted out a praise at this. Sara waited for Private to come out and attack her, otherwise ignoring Amber's praise. With caution, she slowly went in a circle with her flippers held up in defense.

Then Private jumped out of the water and tackled Sara. She pushed him off and jumped back up before he could get any hits when she was down. Sara quickly launched herself to Private and started landing hits on his belly as he tried desperately to block every hit. Private then used his foot to shove Sara back by pushing at her abdomen. Surprisingly, it worked, and he took the opportunity of her confusion to land some hits of his own.

She was so surprised by the sudden turn that she got hit in the head and was flung into the water. Now it was Private's turn to wait. He panted and tried to get his breath back but was hit from the behind before he even knew it. Sara pinned him down and used most of her weight to keep him down.

Private struggled from her grip but used all of his strength to push and shove her back, pinning her down with all his weight. Private was quite a bit heavier than her and the more she struggled the more she realized she was stuck.

"I give," Sara murmured, a bit humiliated.

Private hastily got off of her and offered a flipper. She took it with a sad smile. "Sorry Sara," he whispered apologetically.

Skipper smirked at Amber. The silver bird growled and stubbornly turned her head away from the smug penguin. "Kowalski and Flora, you're up!" they yelled simultaneously.

"Do you think they're going to keep doing that?" Flora asked Kowalski with exasperation as they got into their fighting stances.

Kowalski shifted his footing. "Chances are, for now, yes."

"Should we be concerned about this?"

They were too engaged into their little conversation that they didn't notice Skipper, and Amber saying telling them to start already or even Rico ringing the gong. That was until their leaders literally yelled at them to go.

"GO, GO, GO!" hollered the commanding officers.

Kowalski and Flora had a moment of confusion, but Kowalski put together that the fight had started, and he jumped onto his feminine opponent. They tussled on the ground, landing slaps, kicks and punches when and where possible. One particular punch got them rolling away from each other. They picked themselves up and panted as they stared at their temporary foe. Flora suddenly lunged forward and threw a punch at his stomach.

It knocked the wind out of him, and he gasped at the pain. _'I didn't realize Flora was so strong!'_ He made a note to not underestimate her in the future. Flora felt really bad, but she grabbed his flipper, put it behind his own back and pushed him to the ground. His face was uncomfortably smashed against the cold concrete and he moaned, though he didn't bother struggling. He just stayed there and, after a while, Flora released him. They both had bruises but nothing serious.

"I'm very sorry, Kowalski," Flora managed to cough out her apology when the strategist got back up.

"It's alright," Kowalski wheezed. He grinned at her relieved smile and they weakly beamed at each other as they achingly sat back down.

Skipper stated blankly, "Well, that only took twenty seconds." Simply said, he was unimpressed.

"Alright Madison, you're up." Amber smirked as said penguin eagerly jumped up, ready to fight.

Skipper looked at his weapons expert and ordered, "Rico, make the fight fair and don't hack up anything."

"Aw, what?" Rico glanced at him and frowned. The weapons expert sighed but complied, grinning confidently at Madison. "_I'm_ gunna win," he stated gutturally and then jumped into a fighting stance in front of the already prepared female. Her head shook in her disagreement but she smirked at him all the same. Madison showed her exhilaration and desire for violence just by her eyes. The two penguins didn't even wait for Amber and Skipper to give the signal.

They jumped and smacked against each other with as much force as they could muster with a painful sound emitting from the impact that caused the others flinch and cringe. Madison stumbled back but recovered quickly and head butted Rico, making him groan and stumble at the sudden pain in his head. The mute and aggressive bird jumped up and kicked him in the gut. Unfortunately, that caused him to hack up a bomb into her flippers. Madison panicked briefly but acted quickly and threw it over the Zoo walls. They all watched the explosion that boomed over the wall, sending tires and metal everywhere that was followed by a yell.

"MY CAR!"

Rico and Madison chuckled at the funny remark. They quickly remembered their fight and jumped at each other again. It ended with them in a tangle on the ground, trying to hit the other and, at the same time, push the other one way. Madison played dirty and roughly pulled on his Mohawk.

"Ow!" Rico yelped.

If she was going to play dirty, he was going to play dirty to.

He yanked off her hat and hastily threw it into the water. Madison blew a fuse and threw him across the habitat, resulting in Rico getting smacked painfully into the bars. He groaned and slipped into the water. Madison quickly got her hat before it sank into the waters depths and tossed it to Amber, who easily caught it. Rico then jumped up on the floe with anger in his eyes, his sides heaving. She made a small taunting movement to him with her flipper, snickering all the while.

They raced across the concrete island and knocked their heads together….hard. They laughed dizzily and took wobbled steps before they both fell into unconsciousness. Sara and Private dragged them to the side so they wouldn't get in the way of the final fight. Flora started to look them over to see if they had any serious injuries.

Amber and Skipper shook their heads disapprovingly.

"Guess that leaves you and me." Amber got up and sauntered to the other side of the concrete island. Skipper did the same with an air of confidence.

Skipper was quick on his feet with his plan of attack on Amber. He grabbed her flipper and tried to put it behind her back the same way Flora had done to Kowalski. Amber ended up flinging him over her back instead and let her body slam onto his so she was sitting right on top of him. She landed a clean blow across his face, and he reacted by pushing her off, causing her to roll over onto her back. She managed to jump back up to her feet, glaring at the other authority figure.

Skipper and his team hadn't fought like this in a while, it felt invigorating.

They stared each other down, cautiously moving in a circle. Skipper and Amber lunged at the same time, seized each other by the shoulders and tried to throw the other off, succeeding in hurling themselves into the water. The others couldn't see them now, but Skipper and Amber didn't care of course.

They kicked each other underwater with large bubbles escaping their beaks from the impact. Amber only came back onto the floe after two minutes when she finally needed to breathe. Skipper jumped out of the water and into the air and landed a blow on her back. She squawked in pain and faced him, blood boiling and all. She slapped him right across the face that sent him to the other side of the habitat. It was sharp sound that made him fall onto his side. He rubbed his cheek, surprised by the force.

Skipper's eyes narrowed and he stared at Amber as she breathed heavily, both from anger and her wavering strength. He lunged at her once more, and their flippers met. Their fins pushed at each other, they were beak to beak, eye to eye. They both pushed at each other, wanting to gain power over the other.

"Please stop!" Private whimpered as he noticed the growing bruises on their bodies along with ruffled feathers. Amber and Skipper looked at him, confused.

"I thought this was for combat practice," the young female of Amber's team put out. "You two shouldn't be hurting each other like that," Sara said in a barely audible whisper that was choked on by her concern.

Amber and Skipper looked back at each other and, to the penguin's astonishment, they busted out laughing.

"You did good Skipper; you got some guts in there. You did some clean hits too!" Amber complimented and rubbed a sore bruise tenderly.

"You did pretty good too, doll face. I was surprised a slap could have so much force!" Skipper rubbed his cheek where he had been struck and winced slightly.

Something there had been formed...some respect to one another. What transpired was indeed aggressive and rage driven but, looking back, they admired the others skills, even if they were taking the bluntness course of action. That was nothing compared to what they could've done.

The others stared in astonishment at their leaders.

"Good match Skipper." Amber held out a flipper with an honest smirk on her expression.

"Good match." Skipper winked with a smirk of his own and shook her flipper.

Amber was starting to warm up to him after all. At least she had respect for him if not anything.

"Now, let's get some sleep, shall we?" Skipper asked when he turned back to the others.

They didn't hesitate and groaned as they made their way down into the HQ. Amber and Skipper took the knocked out psychopaths down into the hidden headquarters and put them in their bunks.

Sara went straight to her bunk and plopped in with a loud groan. She was just so exhausted. The others followed her example and almost immediately fell asleep. Skipper and Amber, however, remained awake.

"Oh yeah, Skipper, Julien wants you guys to do something about that smoothie maker or blender of his," Amber told him when she remembered what had happened earlier when she was reflecting the day's work.

"Eh, Ringtail can live without a smoothie for a…week," Skipper muttered.

Amber snorted in amusement. She looked over at her friends, deciding that now was a good time to check on them. She strode over to her teammates with a, for once, soft smile on her face. She always checked on her girl's before she went to sleep, it was a habitat of hers the developed when she had first met them.

Skipper made his way to his bunk and chuckled as he saw the boys snoring away. He jumped in his bunk and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.

Amber went over to Sara first, who was threatening to fall off her bunk. The silver bird pushed her back in and placed the blanket over the small penguin's body, lightly pressing her beak on Sara's forehead in a motherly gesture. She then moved up to Flora, who had the second lowest bunk. One of Flora's flippers was dangling over and the blanket was hanging on her face as she snored, making it rise and fall almost comically. She pushed Flora's flipper back in and put the blanket across her stomach, which the taller penguin immediately snuggled up too.

She went to the very top, where Madison was. The mute bird's beak was open and drool would come out soon if she didn't close it. She also had half her body on the ceiling of her bunk for an inexplicable reason. Amber moved Madison's body back down to her pillow and closed her beak. She jumped into her own bunk and got comfortable, wincing slightly at the movements of her shoulders. It was difficult considering the bruises she had but, if the others did it, she could do it to.

The whole time Skipper had been watching her, feigning sleep. Maybe she wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. He risked a slowly growing smile and closed his eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>I do know the end was sucky. Also, muhahahahaha, I love to torture Julien! Any who, please review! Also, do you guys think I should have one of my OC's have their own chapter?<strong>

**Julien: If you are to be doing that, don't make it Madison! SHE'S EVIL!**

**Madison: *Snickers and pulls out chainsaw***

**Julien: AAAAAAHHHHHHH! *Smacks into wall***

**Me: So yeah…no penguins were injured in the making of this chapter.**

**Skipper: Penguins did get hurt in this chapter!**

**Me: Oh yeah, sorry. Don't take it personally.**

**Skipper: *Rolls eyes* Whatever.**

**Rico: Review!**


	7. Amber's Emotions

Amber was surrounded by a desert and mountain like terrain that stretched far more than what the eye could see. The heat of the sun pushed down upon her and the clear pool of water nearby pleasantly, not a burning sensation like one would expect. Amber wasn't here to do any sightseeing though, for she was too busy fighting off some leopard seals and orcas to do so.

Flying orcas with lasers strapped to their heads and large leopard seals with shotguns to be exact.

Swiftly, Amber kicked them severely in the face and punched them in the gut, making them cough out their precious air. She smirked each time they let out screams of pain, considering it an achievement. Simultaneously, the silver avian dodged their bullets and lasers along with the sharp teeth of the predators.

But they suddenly started to hit her back, and she couldn't defend herself. They were pushing her towards a cliff when one final jab finally pushed her over the edge of it. Amber felt the wind rush past her face as she watched the quickly coming ground with terror, awaiting impact. However, as soon as Amber hit the ground she realized it didn't hurt as much as she had thought it would. Meaning she wasn't dead. The formerly terrified penguin groaned and opened her defocused eyes. She wasn't at the deserted mountains; she was in the penguins HQ…on the floor.

Amber growled in anger. That was a great dream till _that_ happened.

"You alright?"

The voice sounded familiar. She couldn't place her flipper on it though.

"What?" she snapped.

"Are you alright?" it said in an annoyed tone.

Amber finally identified the owner of the voice. Skipper. It was Skipper. _'Great,'_ the flightless bird thought sarcastically. "Yes," she muttered. Amber sat up and looked up to the source of his voice.

Skipper was hanging around on her bunk with his face contorted in annoyance. He jumped down and offered his assistance by grasping her flipper and pulling her up. Amber wasn't all in for the help but after last night she would probably need it. It has been a while since Amber met someone who could hold themselves up against her. Neither could Flora, Madison, or Sara have even if they ganged up on her.

Amber winced when she moved, cringing. The fight from last night and the fall did not go very well together.

"Yes, because you look _completely_ fine," Skipper said sarcastically, earning a glare.

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked, rubbing her throbbing head. '_Did I just roll out_?'

"That is unknown information that I will do my upmost performance in figuring out."

She raised a brow as Skipper finally helped her up. "Yeah, I'm guessing it was you."

"Let's not rush into any unnecessary conclusions," the flat-headed penguin said and folded his flippers behind his back.

Despite everything, Amber snorted in amusement. She looked around the HQ but didn't see the others.

Skipper noticed her confusion and explained, "Private took Sara to see more of the Zoo, and Kowalski and Flora are in the lab."

"Madison and Rico?" she asked suspiciously.

The flat skulled penguin shrugged in response. "No idea. But when my boys get back, we're going to start some _serious_ training!" the commanding officer exclaimed as he punched his flippers together to emphasize his point. Skipper eyed Amber for a minute. "How about we do something to pass the time, huh doll face?"

She pondered this, rolling the idea in her head before she made a decision. "Want to play checkers?" Amber asked with a confident smirk.

He smirked as well and looked at her dead in the eye. "Bring it on," he challenged.

They set up the game fairly quickly and soon settled down at the table, sitting across from each other. Amber had the red pieces and declared that this meant she got to make the first move. What color pieces she had didn't matter to her, either way she knew she would win. It was a fact to her.

"So Skipper..." Amber began and made the first move. He raised a brow in her direction and moved his piece when she tried to make conversation. "…What do you think of the lemurs?"

"Ringtail is a pain in the tail feathers, and he won't shut off that stupid music. Maurice is ok and at least he has more sense. Sad Eyes…" he thought for a moment. She jumped over one of his pieces; he frowned slightly. "I don't know what to say about him, but he can be useful on some missions." He smirked as he jumped over two of his opponent's pieces. Amber let her own smirk show when she saw what she was hoping he would do.

"You should pay more attention to your moves Skipper." She chuckled as she jumped three of his pieces, confiscating them from the board.

He only smiled back, which befuddled her. "As you should too." He then jumped three of her red pieces, giving a smug look as he made a slow deliberate action to take her jumped pieces.

"Well played!" Amber was honestly surprised she hadn't seen that. That was fine, she liked a challenge. "Do you like music?" Did he hate music or just Julien blasting it at him? Amber was a personal fan of music herself and enjoyed to listen to it on a daily basis. If he didn't like it then they were going to get on each other's nerves constantly, not that they weren't already.

"I like music; I just hate noise," he answered, causing his acquaintance to chuckle quietly and look at him quizzically. "I just don't want it screaming at me when I'm sleeping, or it playing the same song over and over," he explained with an exaggerated groan. "Do you?" Receiving a nod, he groaned. "Please don't tell me you listen to techno!"

Amber laughed but shook her head. "I go for pop." She smirked and said deviously, "But watch out for Madison, she likes _everything_ and she likes it _loud_."

"Then I'm going to need some earmuffs."

She chuckled quietly with him, hiding her faint surprise that he would actually encourage a conversation. "So what are we going to do about visitors today?" she asked. Honestly, Amber didn't want to entertain those stupid people today or ever. They never did her any good.

Skipper smirked and answered, "Lucky for us, the Zoo is closed today."

Lucky indeed.

The game went on for half an hour and by then they were both down to one piece. Amber found out some things about him during this time. Ranging from how he likes to drink coffee every morning with a fish to where he can't set foot in Denmark, like how she couldn't go to Las Vegas. He had asked her about that, sounding mighty suspicious, but Amber decided to press his buttons and say it was classified. It worked, and he glared, making her laugh with good humor. Either way, she wouldn't have told him anyway.

Skipper kept making moves with his king, and she didn't know _what_ he was doing. At some point Amber realized he wasn't sure what he was doing either. The silver penguin, however, was plotting how she should move, according to the spots he and she could jump at. It was very complicated. They had stopped asking questions after the first eight minutes and have been making small chat since.

"Have you ever seen the inside of a leopard seals mouth before?"

Skipper nodded his head, grimacing and shuddering of memories in Antarctica. "Why?"

Amber smirked when she finally jumped his piece, making a chuckle erupt at the back of her throat when he glared daggers. "I was in Antarctica, getting some fish, when one of those things almost swallowed me right up!"

"What happened?" he asked as he put the board and its pieces away. He actually sounded generally curious, though only a little bit. Skipper wasn't humoring her at least. Having someone listen was great.

"Madison had seen the big lug and bit that thing's tail. So when he screamed from the pain, I jumped out of his mouth as soon as possible but my foot had been cut by its teeth. I still have the scar but it's barely noticeable now, thankfully." Amber pointed to a little scar on the back of her foot for proof.

Skipper nodded silently.

They were immensely startled when Sara and Private unexpectedly came through fish plaque entrance. They quickly ran into the lab where Flora and Kowalski were without a sign of acknowledgment. Something must have happened because moments later Sara jumped out with a red face followed by an equally red Private, who now had a weapon in his flippers. They both went up the ladder and disappeared as quickly as they came. Amber looked at Skipper with a raised brow.

He looked just as confused and shrugged. "Want to have some lunch?" he offered, taking their minds off those two.

Amber rubbed my stomach as it grumbled from hunger. "That'd be good."

"Have you ever tried popcorn?" he asked.

Out of all the traveling she'd done, Amber had never stopped by to have popcorn. She shook my head and simply said, "Nope but I want too."

Skipper let his trademark smirk grow on his face, pulled on her flipper, and brought them topside.

"So, where do we get the popcorn?" she asked. The male commanding officer pointed his flipper towards an abandoned popcorn cart as an answer. "The Zoo being closed has its advantages," Amber stated with a smirk.

Skipper smiled and nodded in agreement. He held up a flipper and instructed, "Wait here." He quickly went to the cart, scooped up some popcorn in a red and white striped bag, and jumped back into the habitat. "Here you go." He handed over the bag, which she took gratefully.

Amber then waddled to the edge of the island and sat down to watch parts of the Zoo. When she looked back, she saw that Skipper was still standing there, looking up at the sky. He looked so calm and peaceful. His puffed out chest made small movements as he breathed in and out. She found herself staring and blinked away, scolding herself.

After shaking out of the stupor, the silver bird whistled to get his attention. His head immediately snapped in her direction; his blue eyes glittering from the sun. He didn't look half bad in this light, she had to admit. Skipper raised a questioning brow, prompting her. Amber motioned for him to sit by patting the spot beside her. He hesitated but nodded and complied with the request. They then sat there, sharing the popcorn in silence.

The warm sun felt nice on her feathers, warming up her flesh. You got used to being Antarctica but once you actually felt warmth like this, you learned just how much you've been missing. New nature, lights, and all different kinds of animals were outside that frozen wasteland. Sure, the Northern Lights were breathtaking beautiful, but you never really saw anything else that would spark interest unless you wanted to count a leopard seal.

Amber's thoughts drifted.

Skipper seemed to have taken a drastic change of attitude since yesterday. She wasn't sure why he was acting like this since they've only been here for a few days. Maybe it was the now mutual respect they felt toward each other since the 'practice' fight. Amber knew fully well that he didn't fully trust her yet, which was fine. His eyes would watch her with suspicion in their depths. Still, this was nice. Eating popcorn, watching the sky in peace with him.

"This is pretty good," Amber sighed in her content, voicing her thoughts. He simply hummed in agreement, munching on another piece of the snack food. Suddenly, she said, "You have a good team Skipper."

The flat skulled penguin looked over into her eyes with just as much as surprise as she had at the comment.

Finally, he spoke, a bit slowly as if he wasn't sure if what he was saying was right. "You got a good one too."

Smiling a bit again, Amber was content. Her life had never been a happy one till she had met her girls, who had been the only source of light and joy in the dark abyss of her soul. However, ever since they got here she has been smiling more than usual. It was weird because Amber wasn't sure if she should like it or not. She hasn't smiled like this in a long time. Antarctica wasn't a place to smile.

Amber frowned as she remembered home and deep ache in her heart and head pound with guilt. She suddenly felt terrible when she realized that they had never got fish for the colony. They were going to starve… Her mood changed for the worse in a matter of seconds.

Skipper noticed this and tried to study her face, but she turned away.

"Thanks for the popcorn," Amber mumbled before getting up and jumping briskly down the fish bowl entrance. A barely auditable thump resonated when her webbed feet touched the ground. She decided to go to the only place that she could have some peace and quiet. The park. It would be the first time since Amber had gotten here that she'd be free from the Zoo wall's confinement.

Rapidly, Amber moved fish plaque aside and propelled inside, just able to close it when Skipper came down. Sliding on her belly through the sewer, she went through the first manhole she saw. When she popped off the grate and looked around she found it to be a unfamiliar a cave.

_'Where am I?'_

"AAAAHHHHH!"

Out of reflex, she literally jumped at the voice. The target wasn't prepared and they were tumbled backwards and landed in a heap. Once Amber pinned the creature down, she took a look at what it was. Her eyes widened with realization and she immediately got off, slightly embarrassed, but didn't show it.

"Sorry, Marlene, it's a reflex," Amber apologized reluctantly and held out a flipper, which Marlene gratefully took it.

"It's fine. I guess…" she muttered as she brushed herself off with her paws. "So, what are you doing here?" Marlene questioned. She looked rather annoyed from the intrusion and tackle.

"I got lost in the sewer."

Marlene was not amused, though she was curious. "Why were you in the sewers?" she questioned some more.

"I was trying to find my way to the park, underground. If anyone asks about me, don't say anything!" Amber ordered, growling, and pointed a flipper into the Asian otter's face.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone! But…why are you going to the park anyway?" She sat down and patted the spot next to her, expecting something long to talk about.

When Amber sat down she confessed to her what she was feeling, also telling her the story of how they got here. She was the first one Amber told but not with good reason. She would have normally been more suspicious or paranoid, but she was confident that she could trust Marlene. Skipper did...so she could too. At least a little bit.

Marlene paid attention the whole time and would occasionally nod. When Amber was done, she was surprised by the near death experience. "Wow," was all she could say. Marlene's stare got the feminine penguin to shift uncomfortably.

"I'm just going to go to the park. I'll see you later Marlene." The silver flightless avian then rushed out of her habitat before she could say anything else.

Amber slid over to the zoo entrance and did her best to stay hidden. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to follow or see her. Passing easily through the bars, the guilty penguin went straight for the park and looked for a good spot to conceal herself from the public. '_I should pick a tree before a human sees me_.'

A nearby oak caught her attention. She climbed up the bark and hid in the branches and leaves. There was still an empty feeling in her gut but thinking about it would clear her head, it always did. Amber's thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of leaves. She got into a balanced fighting stance on the branch, waiting for whoever it was. A squirrel's head popped through the leaves, sending the bright green shapes twirling downwards.

"Wow," he said simply with a wave.

Amber, confused, blinked. Who waves while saying wow… probably a lot more than she would think. Still, her first impression was that this squirrel was trying to hit on her or something related. A problem was that she wasn't sure if he was bad or anything, but he had this weird vacant look in his eyes that threw her off. What kind of trick was this?

"Wow what?"

"Oh, it's this thing I'm doing. It makes meeting people more interesting."

This was a wise squirrel.

Unsure of how to respond, Amber settled with, "Um, hi then?" The squirrel repeated his first word to her with the same wave and same blank look. Wanting to be over and done with this but be polite, though it never suited her, she instructed, "State your name."

"Fred," he answered simply.

After a while, an awkward silence set in, which she couldn't take.

"Do you want something?" Amber asked a bit harsher than intended.

"No." Again with the blank look.

"Well, why are you here?" she questioned with a twitching eye. The twitch was annoying so she slapped a flipper over her eye. The feeling was infuriating when it continued.

"This is my tree," he claimed.

"Oh..."

Silence. Awkward silence. The squirrel just stared and blinked slowly, like he was waiting for something. He stared into her eyes with little to no intensity. His brown eyes seemed milky in a way that gave him an unfocused look but yet he looked like he was observing something. 'Is he studying me?' She wasn't sure but she was as sure as hell she didn't like it.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," he replied.

Amber's temper and tolerance finally snapped with a cry of frustration. She hastily jumped out of the tree and onto the next one, landing easily on the branch. '_Was he just stupid or was he waiting for me to spill my guts to those vacant eyes? I'll ask the others later.' _The thought causedher to flinch. '_The others!'_ The penguin looked up at the sky to see a sunset. It was getting late. '_I must've talked to Marlene longer than I had originally thought_.' Amber slid back into the Zoo un-detected and hurtled back into the habitat, only to see Skipper standing there. She frowned slightly at the sight of him.

"Fish and chips, Amber! Where did you go?" he shouted on sight. He looked concerned to the bone.

_'I just met him; he didn't have to act like I was a kid or delinquent!'_ Amber mentally winced at the thought. '_Maybe he has a good reason to keep an eye on me_,' she thought. '_No, he shouldn't have too.'_

"I went to the park," the calmer penguin stated simply.

Skipper glared fiercely, flippers on his sides. "Everybody was worried about you!" he shouted.

An abrupt sound caught their attention. Skipper and she curiously looked at the fishbowl as it slid aside with the others promptly coming out. They grinned widely once they saw Amber, immediate relief in their eyes.

"Actually, it was mostly Skipper," Kowalski informed with a smug smile.

At first Amber was uncertain if he was telling the truth but the glare Skipper gave Kowalski said it all. "Well that's nice." She was surprised when Sara, Flora, and Madison suddenly tackled her into a hug, but she smiled and returned it anyway with a small chuckle. "How about we go back inside?"

They all agreed before going back down into the HQ. Amber went to watch some T.V with Private, Sara, Flora, Rico, and Madison. Laughter bubbled up from her throat when she watched Sara and Madison fight over the remote. Deep down she knew it wouldn't be the last.

"Come on Madison! I want to see The Lunacorns!" Sara yelled.

Madison grunted through slitted eyes and yanked the remote from Sara's grasp. The mute soldier flipped it to an exploding monster truck show and blew a raspberry at Sara mockingly.

_'Figures. My typical girls.'_

Sara huffed and laid back, obviously disappointed. Amber tried to hold in her laughter when she saw Madison, and Rico looking at the screen with such an odd interest. Their tongues were hanging out of their beaks, and their eyes were wide to capture every detail of the demolition.

Amber personally liked it, unlike Sara and Private, who were very disappointed. They really must've wanted to watch their show. Throughout the time she enjoyed the program, soaking up everything along the way.

Rico and Madison were so close to the television that it must've been eye damaging, but they seemed to enjoy clinging to each other in anticipation for the next explosion. They were excited, trembling in their spots, and looked increasingly deranged as the show progressed. That was concerning.

Kowalski joined everyone minutes into the show and settled down next to Flora. They started talking after that, otherwise dismissing the show completely in favor of their discussion.

The two young cadets were pouting as they laid against the wall, only paying a little bit of their attention to the program. Most of what they did consisted with asking for control over the remote but, of course, the two psychopaths ignored them. The two exchanged mumbled words and would toy with a Lunacorn, looking bored.

Shame. For them of course.

It was a good show though.

By the time the extra-long episode was done, it was lights out. Disappointment lined the two psychopath's and two young penguin's steps, though for different reasons, as they waddled to their sleeping spaces. Kowalski and Flora bid each other a good night's sleep before going off to their respected bunks.

Before Amber went to her own bunk with the girls, Skipper pulled her over, sparking her curiosity.

"Can I talk to you in private?" he asked in a whisper.

Amber hesitated but nodded, and they went topside. There was silence as they absorbed our surroundings, particularly the sky. The moon was like a large and pretty orb in the black velvet that was the sky, surrounded by sparkling and dazzling dots that were stars. It was pretty.

When Skipper spoke, Amber nearly jumped but she did flinch.

"What happened earlier?" he asked, arching a brow. The way he asked it made it sound more like an interrogation rather than a genuinely worried question. The way he posed only supported that.

Again, Amber hesitated before answering with eyes flicking around with uncertainty. She guessed she owed him that much, but she personally didn't want to tell him. "I…ran off earlier 'cause I felt homesick. No, I_ FEEL_ homesick," she replied with the slightest hint of fluster in her voice.

Skipper frowned and folded his flippers over his broad chest. "Miss your family?"

"Yes… and no. My parents are…a pain, but my brothers and sisters are alright." A sigh passed through her beak, she caught his gaze, and they ended up staring. What she did next was a surprise to the both of them. The silver commanding officer seized the flat skulled penguin by the shoulders, pulled him forward, and hugged him tightly. He was stiff at first, but he slowly relaxed and timidly returned the gesture. Amber suddenly pulled away.

"Thanks Skipper." Hastily, she turned away and went back down the hatch. Amber didn't bother checking on the girls and went straight into her bunk, afraid of questions and them seeing her red complexion. She pulled the blanket over her body and turned so she was facing the wall…Amber didn't want anyone to see her face. Tentatively, she nuzzled into the pillow and forced herself to fall asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>The next three chapters after this are supposed to be the same day, just so you know. I've been meaning to put Fred in there...at some point. Do you like the chapter? Please review<strong>

**Amber: I looked weak…**

**Me: No, you were just emotional challenged.**

**Amber: *Growls***

**Skipper: I didn't think you were weak.**

**Amber: Thanks Skips.**

**Skipper: Don't call me that!**

**Me: Please review! I might be evil if you don't. *Pulls out chainsaw***


	8. The Physco Duo

**Madison's POV**

Rico had promised me that he would take me out for an exploding spree or something like that; I didn't understand half of what he said. It was a way of apologizing about the fight we had to do I think. It wasn't his fault we had to fight each other, 'cause I found it fun anyway. Still, of course I agreed! It is going to be awesome!

Rico and I had to get up early, so the others wouldn't see us. Rico knew Skipper wouldn't approve, so we were going to sneak out. We weren't going to tell Skipper or Amber where we went of course. It wasn't as much as a problem for me as it was for Rico. I was pretty sure he wouldn't crack though.

I opened my eyes to see if any of the guys were awake. They weren't. I quickly looked down at the other girls below me. They weren't awake either.

I slowly, and as quietly as possible, jumped out of my bunk. I landed softly on the ground without much of a sound. I gently tip toed to the ladder and climbed up. I noticed Rico wasn't in his bunk. _He must be waiting for me. _Sure enough, once I jumped out, Rico was there.

Rico looked happy to see me. At least I think he was. He always seemed to be happy. I grinned when he pulled my flipper in a signal to start moving. We jumped out of the habitat and started heading for the park. We snuck through the bars and made sure no one was around to see us. Once we saw that it was all clear, we began the set up.

Rico hacked up some TNT, bombs, and some other cool explosives. We got them ready for the big show. We hung some on trees that we knew weren't inhabited with animals with others on the ground, and a couple were going to be launched up with these catapult like things Rico made. Once it was all set up, we hid behind a tree. All we needed to do was press a button and then, BOOM! An awesome explosion show for the two of us.

I was so excited; I was practically tingling with it. I was about to press the button when Rico stopped me.

"Wait a minute." He slid over somewhere before I could do anything.

I slumped but decided to wait, though I was never really that patient. I would be willing to wait…for Rico. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. And waited some more. I was getting bored.

_Must be interesting if he's gone so long. Must also be cooler then the explosion show. An awesome explosion show in fact, _I thought.

In about two more minutes of that terrible waiting, Rico came back with a huge grin on his face. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. I didn't know how to express my confusion in any other way, unfortunately.

"Ready," he said without an explanation. I didn't even hesitate and eagerly pressed the button. I was practically drooling as I saw the bombs go off. One by one they all exploded into millions of pieces. Trees, bushes, and heck, even some rocks exploded.

_Rico really knows his explosives, _I thought happily.

I snuck a quick glance at Rico. He seemed to be enjoying it as much as I was. I turned back, and watched the dynamite explode in the sky as it was launched. All around us, various objects exploded in beautiful, powerful, fiery colors. No one seemed to understand the beauty destruction brought. Then the final bomb went of. I sighed. I was a bit disappointed that it was over. I looked at Rico, to see that he was still smiling.

He even looked more excited then before. He pointed to the sky. Confused, I turned back to the midnight blue sky that still held a few stars. I was even more confused when I didn't see anything but the stars and moon. Then I saw something bright and flashy launch up into the sky. Then it exploded into an array of colors. My beak dropped opened in awe.

_Fireworks. These are fireworks! Rico set up fireworks! _I looked at Rico and gave the biggest grin I could offer. He grinned back. I nudged him and made the best explosion sound I could make. He laughed, and I laughed along too. I looked back up to see the thousands of fireworks Rico had set up. Even if Skipper and Amber beat us into a pulp, it was all worth it.

Then, while I watching some more fireworks with Rico, I noticed something that made my eyes widen.

I saw the sun coming up. I shook Rico, and I must have looked insane to him. Who am I kidding? I am insane. Once I had his attention, I pointed to the sun. Rico eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. He grabbed my flipper, and I growled in protest as he dragged me back to the zoo.

When we got back inside the zoo we hid under a local bench. We looked around to see if Skipper or the others were around. Rico gave the all clear signal, but I stopped him before he could slide away.

"Huh?" Rico tilted his head to the side, looking adorable to me.

I pointed to what made me stop him. I was looking at the trash can near our habitat. Rico still looked rather confused, but I pointed to it again. We continued to watch it, until we saw what I was waiting for. Two little penguins came out of their hiding spot. I smirked as I saw who they were.

It was simply Private and Sara. I had no idea what they were doing, but I wanted to find out. Curiosity was one of my weaknesses.

I tugged Rico's flipper and, just for pay back from dragging me, I dragged him up a building. I had to admit that his expression was priceless. I wish I had a camera like we did back home to take a picture. I chuckled as he got up. He briefly glared at me but it only made me grin wider.

I ignored Rico and turned around to look for Private and Sara. I spotted them waddling toward the chimps habitat. _Wonder what they're up to…_

By this time, Rico was beside me watching also. Rico snickered when he saw them. I nudged him and pointed at the two penguins with a raised brow. He nodded, and we jumped down the building and hid in a nearby bush. We were pretty close to them, but I hoped they didn't notice us.

"Do you feel as if someone is watching us?" Sara asked Private. My heart skipped a beat. Rico tensed up next to me.

"It's probably the other zoo animals, don't worry," Private reassured. Rico and I both relaxed.

Private and Sara made their way to the chimp habitat. Rico gently nudged me to move toward the two young penguin's destination. We got to the edge of the enclosure and watched Private formally introduce Sara to the chimps.

"Mason, Phil, this is Sara. She's one of the new penguins here," Private explained since there was never a really formal introduction when we had gone on the tour of the zoo.

"Pleasure to meet you." Mason shook her flipper. Phil does some sign language, and Mason nodded. "Phil says it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you guys," Sara said shyly. "Hey Private, can we go see something I saw the other day?" Sara asked, suddenly distracted. As curious as I was, I was getting bored watching them already.

I waddled away, Rico not far behind me. I stopped, sat on a bench, and sighed in boredom. Rico, seeing my boredom, jumped in front of me. I stared without blinking, ready for whatever he was planning on doing.

He hacked up a chainsaw, a couple of knives, a stick of dynamite, and an anchor. I was interested and gaped in awe when I saw him hack it all up. He chuckled at my expression and began to juggle it all. I laughed and enjoyed his little performance, clapping for him to continue. I then noticed the dynamite was lit, but I wasn't sure if he knew that. Still, I didn't do anything about it.

He then threw the stuff high in the air and all of it dropped into his mouth. He was unscathed, but he held the lit dynamite in his flipper. He flung it over to the lemur habitat with a psychotic smile. My smile grew wider every second it got closer to Julien's thrown. The dynamite happened to land right on his head, or really his crown. His eyes were wide with shock when he saw the dynamite on his crown. Unfortunately for him, his boom box was with him up there too.

I laughed my head off as it set off. He had the funniest look on his face. Now I really wished I had a camera! As if my wish was granted, Rico took pictures, laughing every second with me. Rico managed to take some good pictures of Julien, who was sent high into the sky. _This is one of the best days of my life!_

Rico chuckled as he pointed to each picture on the film. I grinned with priceless amusement. I wanted to do something else to make this an awesome day at the zoo for the both of us but what?

The heavens must be on my side today, because then I heard music. I looked in the direction of the music, and I felt my foot tap to the beat. Not wanting to miss it, I, the crazy music lover I am, slid over to the music. I wanted Rico to come, but I was pretty sure he would follow me since he usually did that for some reason.

Once I reached my destination, I was happy to hear one of my favorite songs. 'Dynamite'. I loved that song! I began to dance to the music happily. The others said I could dance really well, especially hip hop moves, but I don't know about that. I had forgotten Rico was behind me, and I completely ignored him as I danced.

I finally noticed halfway through the song that he was there and staring at me. I smiled sheepishly as Rico stared at me, but he started smiling again. Each second it got bigger and turned into a broad grin. He then began to clap lightly, encouraging me. "Good," he grunted.

I couldn't help myself on what I did next. Maybe it was the music, or the party side of me, or just happiness, but I took Rico and made him dance with me. I laughed at his terrified expression. I let go and started dancing next to him with a smirk. He soon started to slowly join me with the same moves and a grin. He must've picked up the rhythmic moves I was doing. Then, with us both smiling, we started danced together in a fun, carefree manner.

I decided to have some real fun. I broke from the rhythmic moves and began to dance my favorite way, the way that impressed everyone. I spun on my head in a wild fashion and put effort into spinning myself on the ground. With a speck of amusement, I jumped up and did a moonwalk.

Rico was gawking at me. Which was pretty funny looking since his tongue was sticking out of his beak.

I stopped dancing for a minute to actually observe him. I haven't got a good look at the guys since I never paid attention to appearances. Ever.

He had a cute scar on the side of his beak, which reminded me of the scar on my flipper. Subconsciously, I grabbed my flipper to hide my scar that I had gotten years ago. I thought his scar made him cute and yet dangerous. Just the way I like it.

He had handsome icy blue eyes. It appealed to my nature and reminded me of home, Antarctica. I didn't miss my family as much as I would miss the girls. I didn't have much to go home too. My friends were my new family and home was wherever I had fun I guess. It didn't really matter to me. As long as they're with me, I didn't care.

I gazed at his Mohawk. I smiled as I looked at it. It was cute on him and it suited his style in life. He was the only one with a real hairstyle going on. Same goes for me. I just hide it, with my newly found and loved, red and white baseball cap.

Rico fidgeted uncomfortably at my stare. I blinked at him with what I hoped was an apologetic look. The music then abruptly stopped, and I looked up to see Julien, Maurice, and Mort taking the machine away. I growled at them, which made them freeze. _No one stops my music! _I pounced on Julien.

"Stop! I just need a new boomy box! My other one went kabloomy!" he explained.

I instantly felt bad, even if I wasn't the one who threw dynamite at him in the first place. I sighed and let him go. To show I still didn't like him; I growled. No way was I going to let anyone think I was growing soft. He scrambled away and took his new boom box with him, Maurice, and Mort not far behind. I smirked and jumped back to Rico.

He seemed to have composed himself but the day wasn't over yet. I was getting bored again, but I knew what could fix that. I made an explosion sound. He got the picture instantly and hacked up some dynamite.

"Kaboom?" he asked and winked at me.

I nodded with a sly expression. He threw the dynamite in the air. It exploded, and Rico and I let out our 'oos' and 'aahhs' as he threw more into the air. Something grabbed my attention away from Rico and the explosions though. It was Skipper.

He was sliding everywhere and nearly bowled us over when he finally reached us. "Have you guys seen Amber?" he panted.

Rico looked at me, and we both shrugged. "Nu uh." Rico shook his head at Skipper.

"Where could she have gone too?" Skipper muttered. "I already sent out Kowalski, Flora, Sara, and Private. You guys check the sewers. I'm going to look around this side of the zoo." Flat-head slid away before we even agreed to it.

Rico reluctantly sighed. "C'mon." He slid to the closet sewer grate, blew it away with some TNT, and we dived in. Thankfully, not in the actual sewage. Then we began the search for Amber. Not a good turn for my day.

* * *

><p>Long story short; we didn't find Amber at all. All Rico and I found were some sewer rats, but it wasn't a problem for us. More for them of course. For their sake, they better know how to swim. But no one wants to swim in sewage. I think.<p>

We finally gave up, and went into the HQ to see Skipper venting his frustrations.

Rico grunted to get his attention.

Skipper looked at us, and I nearly smacked him in reflex when he came to us at the speed of light. "Did you find her?" he asked eagerly. A bit too eager if you ask me. We shook our heads. "Where is she?" He jumped outside after that outburst.

I looked at a wall, to see the others thinking or possibly trying to decide if Skipper was sane or not. _Maybe Skipper lost his mind._

Sara then looked at us with a sad expression, which I never enjoyed to see. "Do you think Skipper will be alright?" she asked. I shrugged as I waddled over and sat next to her.

Kowalski got up and headed for the ladder. He stopped and looked like he was listening to something.

"What is it Kowalski?" Flora asked.

"I think I hear Amber!" Kowalski answered. "Come on!"

I was just as eager to see Amber like the others. I was beginning to get worried for her myself to be honest. No way could I live without her. We landed out there, and I sighed in relief once I saw Amber.

"Actually it was mostly Skipper," Kowalski told Amber. I saw Amber quickly glance at Skipper, and her little frown went to a small smile.

"Well that's nice," she stated simply. Me, Sara, and Flora jumped at Amber, and engulfed her in a hug. It must have been my mood that put me into hugging her. She obviously didn't see that coming, but she embraced us back.

It didn't take long for all of us to go back down into the HQ. I immediately went to the TV to watch a new episode Rico showed me. It involved monster trucks and explosions, and that was good enough for me. Private, Sara, and Amber came along with me and Rico to watch some TV, I guess.

I was about to reach for the remote when Sara snatched it away. I growled as she turned it to the Lunacorns. Then the match began. I took hold of the remote and tried to yank away from Sara, but she only pulled on it too. _Dang, she has a good grip!_

"Come on Madison! I want to see The Lunacorns!" Sara whined. I grunted and, with a final pull, I had the remote in my possession. I immediately went to the right channel. The show was just starting.

I watched the show to the very end. I was, of course, disappointed when it was over but, then again, so was Rico. I patted his back and gave him a smile. He smiled back at me and headed up to his own bunk since it was almost lights out.

All the other girls headed for their bunks. I jumped in and noticed Skipper and Amber go topside. I was curious so I waited. After a while Amber jumped in with a little red face and jumped into her own bunk.

This made me frown. _Was she upset? _I shook my head. _Skipper wouldn't make her upset on purpose_. I smiled knowingly then. _Unless that was a blush. _I chuckled, but I didn't think anyone heard me. I closed my eyes and went to sleep. Dreaming of explosions…and Rico. He was one cool guy.

* * *

><p><strong>We are still curious about what Flora, and Sara were up too, am I right? What do you think happened to them? Either way, I kinda liked this one! Tell me what you think in a review. Please.<strong>

**Fred: Where am I?**

**Me: Holy fudge! Fred how in the world did you get here?**

**Fred: *Points* There's a giant hole in the wall over there.**

**Me: Oh yeah. Need to…fix that. I'll be back to writing once I fix my wall!**


	9. Two Young Cadets

**Sara's POV**

Something was poking me in my sleep. _I don't want to wake up, _I thought bitterly. I've always been lazy when it came to sleep. The poking started getting harder, and I angrily swiped at whatever was poking me away and went back onto my side. Just leave me to my dreams in peace!

"Oof!"

My eyes snapped open immediately at the familiar voice. "Private?" Upon looking down, I saw him flat on his back with a look of surprise on his face. He had just started to pick himself when I jumped down. "Are you ok?"

"Just a little sore on the bum," Private mumbled.

"Why did you wake me up?" I said a bit angrier then intended.

Private frowned slightly. "I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to get to know the zoo residents better," he said hesitantly. "Are y-you mad?"

I sighed and slumped a bit. _He's just too darn cute_. "No I'm not mad, but I like my sleep." I giggled. "Sorry for hitting you," I apologized. How could I be mad at him? Besides, I did hit him. I just hope he wasn't mad at me instead!

"Don't worry about it Sara," Private said with his eyes lighting up again. "So, do you want to see the zoo some more?"

I jumped up and down excitedly. "Sure!"

"Where are you guys going?" someone asked.

I turned around to see Flora rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "We're going to see more of the zoo!" I answered. Then, I noticed that Madison wasn't there. Amber was still sleeping, which was odd because she was usually the first one up. "Hey where's Madison?" I asked.

"And where's Rico?" Private murmured.

Flora shrugged and jumped out of her bunk, stretching out her flippers when she landed on the ground.

"Do you think we should wake up Amber?" I asked. My concern was focused on Madison and Rico. _Maybe Amber would know_.

"It's best we leave her sleeping. She needs it," Flora told me.

"Alright," I sighed. "What about Skipper or Kowalski?"

"What about me?" Kowalski yawned. I turned around and saw Kowalski groggily get out of his bunk. He ended up face first on the floor. If Madison were here, she would be laughing her head off. That was just her kind of thing.

"Kowalski, are you ok?" Flora asked, full of concern, and came to his side.

"Just fine," Kowalski mumbled in a daze. "So, what about me?"

"We wanted to know if you knew where Madison and/or Rico are," I explained.

Kowalski looked confused. He pulled himself up and examined the bunks. "Nope, I haven't seen them." He shrugged sheepishly, like he was suppose to know everything and this one thing got to him. I let out a heavy sigh. _Maybe we'll find them later_. Kowalski's voice made me flinch out of surprised. His tone had more vigor in it then before. "Hey Flora, do you want to do some experimenting in my lab?" Kowalski asked hopefully.

"I would love to!" Flora exclaimed. They both rushed into the lab and closed the door, not to be disturbed for the time being.

"So you want to get some breakfast and then see the zoo some?" Private asked.

I jumped at his voice. I forgot he was there. "Sure!"

Private went into the fridge to get us some fish. He placed it at the table, and we took our seats on the concrete blocks. I thanked him, and we ate in silence. "Are people coming to the zoo today?" I asked, breaking the silence. You could only hear Skipper's snoring and the occasional shifting from Amber as she slept on.

Private swallowed his fish as he spoke. "No, it's a day off for us!" he said cheerfully.

I smiled as I finished my last fish. "Ready?"

"Absolutely!" he confirmed with a large grin. Private happily jumped out into the opening and I followed, not to far behind.

_Outside_. It was pretty. The sun was just coming around for a sunrise. I sighed in content.

"What do you want to see first?" Private asked me.

I thought for a moment and held a flipper under my beak as I thought. "I did want to see the chimps," I admitted.

"You will like them!" he stated happily, all up for it. "Mason is good with a kettle and a cup of tea!"

We jumped over to a trashcan and hid behind it. Private looked around to see if we were being watched and, after a few long moments, we started heading for the chimps.

During the way, I felt like something was watching us. I didn't like the feeling; it made me shiver with unease. Who likes to be stared at or watched? "Do you feel as if someone is watching us?" I asked nervously and tapped my flippers together in my anxiety.

"It's probably the other zoo animals, don't worry," Private reassured gently.

_Maybe it is but I still feel it. Maybe; hopefully, I'm wrong_. Next thing I knew, we were in the chimpanzee habitat.

"Here we are," he announced quietly. Private waved to two chimps and made a gesture for them to cover. When they did, "Mason, Phil, this is Sara," he introduced.

Shyness clouded my actions and I suddenly found it hard to speak. _Maybe I just can't handle meeting other animals._ I silently scoffed at the thought._ I'm acting too much like Flora._

"It's a pleasure to meet you," the darker chimp said as he shook my flipper. The lighter one did what I believe what was sign language. Flora was teaching me sign language. Well, how to understand it since we didn't have any fingers, but I was still learning the basics, just as I was with reading. "Phil says it's nice to meet you."

_So the darker chimp is Mason and the other one is Phil. _"It's nice to meet you guys," I said shyly. Suddenly, I remembered something I had seen during the tour of the zoo we had on our first day that had been unloaded from the Zoo's garage. "Hey Private, can we go see something I saw the other day?" I asked.

"Sure, we could see it if you wish," Private said with his cute British accent and that adorable smile. I squealed with delight.

At the corner of my vision, I saw Phil and Mason exchange knowing smiles. I didn't know why they did, but I didn't care. I waved good bye to the chimps and took Private's flipper. I started running away, dragging Private with me. _I think it was over here. _I went around a corner and found what I was looking for. It was a giant bulls-eye target.

"Why is this in the zoo?" Private questioned, while I helped him up.

That got me thinking. _Why is this in the zoo? _I mentally shrugged_. I like targets though_. I smiled as an idea popped into my head. "Hey can I show you my aim?" I asked. My eyes dilated as I tried to put on my cutest expression. It might have been just me, but I think he was blushing. I giggled a little bit.

His blue eyes were wide open, and his face was turning to a brighter red every second. "Uh...s-s-sure S-Sara," Private stuttered.

This made me cheer happily. "What's the fastest way back to the habitat?" I asked to a very red Private.

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head. "The sewer would be faster," Private answered.

I cringed. _Ew... A sewer, well it was going to happen some time. _"Then let's go! I want to get a weapon from Kowalski's lab so I can show you my aim." I slid to the nearest sewer entrance I could find.

We lifted the grate up and jumped into the sewer. Private showed me to the entrance, and we jumped into the HQ. I saw Amber and Skipper playing checkers, but I wanted a weapon so I ignored them. We quickly slid into the lab after we opened the door, not even bothering to knock.

In retrospect, we probably should've. Once we got in the lab, we saw Flora on top of Kowalski with their faces beat red as they whirled their heads in our direction. My face went red with embarrassment as Private and I fumbled to look for the weapon. I managed to sneak a glance at Private to see his face was the same.

"Uh…this is awkward," Flora said, looking embarrassed and a bit nervous.

Kowalski quickly pushed her off and got up. "It's n-n-not w-what it l-looks like!" Kowalski stuttered nervously.

We didn't listen. Private quickly picked up the closest laser gun, and we slipped out of the lab, ignoring the confused looks from the two leader penguins. We jumped up the ladder, closed the fishbowl entrance and stood in silence for a moment till I decided to say anything.

"Like Flora said," I giggled nervously, though it was forced. "That was awkward."

Private nodded stiffly with a red face, and we started heading for the target. Our blushes had left by the time we got there.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yup." He handed me the laser gun.

I aimed at the target and pulled the trigger when I was sure of its position. It made a direct hit, a perfect hit in the center circle. Private's beak hung open in shock. "Well?" I inquired. What did he think of my aim? Impressive, right?

"Amazing!" Private hollered.

I giggled. "Really?" A blush lightly tinted my cheeks.

"Of course," he replied in an honest tone.

I went up to him and hugged him. "Thanks Private."

"Y-you're welcome…Sara," Private said softly before wrapping his flippers around me, embracing me tightly in the hug.

I began to feel a little weird. In a good way, but I never felt it before. "Want to try this bad boy out?" I asked, ruining the moment. I sighed inwardly, scolding myself a bit. Part of me wanted to stay that way forever but another wanted to see what Private could do with a laser gun.

"Huh?" Private tilted his head to the side in a cute way.

"Want to try your aim with the laser?"

Private looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess I'll give it a go." He took the laser and aimed. He slowly pulled the trigger and fired, stumbling back a bit from the recoil. It got real close to the center circle, but it just missed it.

"Not bad," I mused.

Private frowned slightly. "I wanted to get it in the middle," he sighed sadly.

"Just keep trying! You'll get." He looked at me with a little frown. "I know it," I told confidently. He immediately smiled and took aim again.

Private continued to shoot at the target for minutes after that. I praised each time he got close but some were off because of distractions. At least, I was hoping it was because of distractions. _Private is definitely showing improvement. It might not be like my shots but it is still good._

"Excellent Private!" I cheered. Private took a bashful bow. It only made me giggle like a little school girl. Private appeared to be blushing again. Before I could ask why, we were interrupted.

"Have you guys seen Amber?" Skipper anxiously asked, surprising us both at his sudden appearance.

I frowned and shook my head.

"Haven't seen her since this morning Skippah," Private admitted.

"I need you two to look around this part of the zoo! I'm going to go over there." Skipper pointed to the other side of the zoo. As he pointed, some explosions came from that direction, sending bursts of bright orange and red.

"What the-?" Skipper started when he saw explosions but shook his head. "Now go!" He took off and left us to the task.

Private met my eyes and reflected my concern.

"C'mon! We got to find Amber!"

Private nodded in agreement, and we set our search throughout the zoo.

We checked the different habitats and asked if they saw her, but they all shook their heads or asked who she was, one of the down sides on being the new penguins I suppose. We got to Marlene's habitat, and we were currently questioning her.

"Have you seen Amber?" I asked anxiously. I'm getting desperate here! She's the last habitat!

Marlene looked a bit nervous. "Uh... Amber, um, no. No. No, I haven't seen her." She smiled innocently.

"Where is she?" I wailed. My head lowered into my flippers as I tried to fight away worried tears.

Private rubbed my back comfortingly. "I'm sure she's fine. She might even be back at the HQ," he suggested.

I lifted my head up and ran for the HQ with renewed hope.

"Sara, wait up!" Private shouted.

I slowed my pace but kept running. When I jumped into the HQ, I saw Skipper venting his frustrations loudly.

"Uh…"

"Just leave him. We couldn't find Amber," Kowalski spoke up. I looked over and saw him lying back against a wall. Flora was next to him and was trying to block out the noise by putting her flippers over the sides of her head. I went up against the wall and slid down next to Kowalski. Private joined us shortly.

It didn't take long for Madison and Rico to come in through Private's First Prize. They looked confused, but Rico grunted to get Skipper's attention anyway.

Skipper slid over to them as fast as ever when he heard the noise. "Did you find her?" he asked eagerly. They shook their heads. I was faintly surprised by Skipper's actions. "Where is she?" Skipper growled before he jumped outside.

_Maybe he's looking around again_. I was starting to get concerned for his well being and for Amber. I looked at the two maniac penguins of the rookery. "Do you think Skipper will be alright?" I asked.

Madison shrugged, making my frown deepen. She waddled over toward us and sat next to me. Kowalski got up at that moment and waddled over toward the ladder but stopped. I cocked my head in confusion.

"What is it Kowalski?" Flora asked.

"I think I hear Amber!" he exclaimed. "Come on!"

I didn't even hesitate. We went outside, and I just barely heard what Skipper said. Something about us being all worried about Amber. I was worried for her of course.

"Actually it was mostly Skipper," Kowalski told Amber.

"Well that's nice," Amber said simply, crossing her flippers over her chest.

I couldn't help myself anymore. I jumped over to her and gave her a big hug. Flora joined in, and I was surprised that Madison was hugging her as well. Madison never showed that much affection really. Amber slowly hugged us back after the brief surprise.

Soon, we waddled back into the HQ, and I went straight for the TV. Just as Madison was about to grab the remote; I took it. I was greeted with a growl as I turned it to The Lunacorns. Madison grabbed the remote and tried to pull it out of my flippers. _The nerve! _I pulled back just as hard. It became a war for the remote.

"Come on Madison! I want to see The Lunacorns!" I hollered.

Madison only grunted, did a final pull and the remote was hers. She flipped it to the channel she wanted, and I laid back against the seat. I huffed as they watched the show. I could tell Private was just as disappointed as I was.

When the show was finally over, I waddled over to my bunk a bit disappointed.

I didn't bother saying goodnight or looking at the others. I was too exhausted from not only the events but because it was so late. I slid under the blanket and cuddled up to the pillow that occupied the space. I smiled as I was taken into my dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Once again it's the same day. Sorry for the wait, I had a little writers block. AH! I hate to admit that. Ha-ha this is a dumb title for my chapter I think. <strong>**Bad chapter I know but I hope it's satisfying. Please review for me!**

**Sara: I liked it!**

**Me: Well of course you did. It was really only you and Private.**

**Sara: Private's nice though.**

**Me: Of course he is.**

**Private: Please review.**

**Me: AH! Where the fudge did you come from?**


	10. Twofold the Science

**The penguins coming inside my house is get annoying. Maybe I should put up a high tech security system. Seriously though, thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

><p><strong>Flora's POV<strong>

I opened my eyes groggily and heard Sara and Private talking.

"So do you want to see the zoo some more?" Private was asking.

"Sure!" Sara said cheerfully and of course she jumped up and down. _Typical, sweet, hyperactive Sara._

"Where are you guys going?" I asked. I know I just heard them say it, but I was curious about what was going on. _Madison must be rubbing off some of that curiosity on me_.

Sara turned around towards me as I rubbed my eyes. "Were going to see more of the zoo!" she answered. Sara then narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Hey, where's Madison?" she asked.

"And where's Rico?" Private muttered.

I shrugged and jumped out of my bunk. When I landed; I started to stretch my flippers out. For a second, I could have sworn I heard a crack from my back.

"Do you think we should wake up Amber?" Sara inquired.

_Madison and Rico would be in trouble then. _"It's best we leave her sleeping. She needs it," I replied.

"Alright," Sara sighed. "What about Skipper or Kowalski?"

"What about me?" Kowalski yawned. He tried to get out of his bunk but ended up falling on his face instead.

"Kowalski are you ok?" I gasped in worry. _Oh my gosh, didn't that hurt?_ I came to his side and attempted to help him up.

"Just fine," Kowalski mumbled. "So, what about me?'

"We wanted to know if you knew where Madison, and/or Rico were," Sara explained.

Kowalski got up and examined the bunks, confused. "Nope, I haven't seen them." He shrugged. Sara sighed in disappointment. I looked at Kowalski to see him brighten a bit. "Hey Flora, do you want to do some experimenting in my lab?" Kowalski asked hopefully.

"I would love to!" I exclaimed. We both rushed into the lab, without another word. "So can I see more of your inventions?" I asked once I closed the lab door behind us for some privacy.

Kowalski hesitated. "Um, no, uh, they're not very interesting," he mumbled.

I slumped. _He doesn't want show me does he? _"Well, ok," I muttered. I tried to brighten my mood up a bit. "Do you want to do experiments together?" I asked hopefully.

Kowalski brightened considerably. "Sure!" He waddled over to a table that had a bunch of chemicals.

I came up behind him with a small smile on my beak. "I've never gotten to experiment with these kinds of chemicals before," I said excitedly.

"Really?" Kowalski questioned curiously.

I nodded sadly. "I could never really do that much, but that's going to change today!" I exclaimed with excitement.

Kowalski grinned and handed me some chemicals. "So what can you do?" he asked.

I gave him a devious grin. "I can make a strong acid," I replied proudly. His eyes widened curiously as I quickly poured the ingredients to make the acid. Once I completed it, the vials bottom was eaten away by the acid, and it fell on the ground. We backed away and watched it eat away the ground. "See?" I said.

"Wow! That's a strong acid! How did you do it?" Kowalski asked. I explained the ingredients and how I came around to making the acid in the first place.

"So it was an accident?" Kowalski was trying to get every detail of my story on his clipboard.

I didn't understand why he was so interested in it but hey, what are you going to do? It was an acid that could eat away at just about anything. "Yup," I confirmed. I looked around the lab for something else to do. My eyes fell on a gadget he was working on. "Hey what's this?" I asked picking up the machine.

Kowalski dashed over and grabbed the machine out of my flippers. He hid it behind his back. "Classified." He spoke so fast I almost didn't understand what he said.

"Classified? Yesterday you were showing me all kinds of stuff! What's so secretive about that one?" I asked suspiciously, putting my flippers on my hips.

"I'm not allowed to show you anything," Kowalski admitted and slumped a bit.

"Why?" I asked sadly, lowering my flippers back down.

"Because…" he hesitated. "Skipper doesn't want me to show you this stuff," he explained.

_I'm not going to bother him with any more questions. It'll just make it harder for the both of us. _"Whatever. Can we still work on something?" I wanted to work on something so badly! I wanted to make a creation of my own, not remake dumb chemicals that can eat your skin away.

"Well..." Kowalski started but stopped as he stared at my face, which made me feel that familiar discomfort. I decided to do what Sara does and put the cutest face I could to get what I wanted. Kowalski's face went as red as a tomato as my eyes dilated and blinked slowly at him. "Uh... o-ok," Kowalski stuttered.

"Yes!" I cheered. "So what can we do first?"

"W-we could work on m-my other p-projects," Kowalski continued to stutter.

"Excellent!" I exclaimed enthusiastically.

He went toward a nearby table and began shifting through multiple blueprints. He picked up a specific blue print. "I've done something similar to this but I wanted to make some better improvements. This is supposed to make things younger. I've wanted to work on it for a while now," he told me.

I nodded my head and grinned up at him. "Let's begin."

* * *

><p>For a while, I handed him parts, and we simply calculated the equations for sizes, mass, and chemical separation. We would also work on separate parts, and we were able to construct the base of the machine in less then an hour.<p>

"We're getting some great progress," Kowalski noted. I nodded my head in agreement. "Can you hand me that blow torch over there?" he asked.

"Sure," I replied. I walked as carefully as I could to the blowtorch, careful to avoid the debris, spare parts, and other tools. I grabbed the blowtorch and walked back to Kowalski. Unfortunately, I tripped over some metal piece. "Whoa!" I yelped as I fell forward. I fell right into Kowalski's out stretched flippers. My beak lying against his chest, my flippers were grabbing around his waist. I looked at him embarrassed, and I started turning red. "Um…oops?" I chuckled nervously.

Kowalski was just as red as me. "Um, do you mind?" His tone sounded embarrassed but something else in it offended me.

I quickly got off of him and trailed my foot in a circle along the ground. "So…that never happened?"

"What happened?" Kowalski said, shrugging, trying to lighten the mood.

I chuckled, and my blush went down slowly. I looked around the ground and saw the blowtorch near my feet. "Uh, here's the blowtorch you wanted." I picked it up and handed it to him. He took it gratefully and mumbled his thanks.

I waddled back to the part of the invention I was working on. It was suppose to be an energy chamber for the machine. It was going to be attached to the large base of the invention. "So Kowalski..." I started, wanting to make a conversation. He looked up, curious. "You like candy?" I asked.

"Candy! I love candy!" he hollered.

I giggled. "Me too." I admit that I am a freak for candy. "I don't think I like it as much as you do though." I laughed lightly.

His face went a red again.

I cocked my head. He was red a lot lately. "You ok Kowalski? You're as red as a cherry. Do you have a fever?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine," he mumbled and turned his head away.

I frowned. _Did I do something wrong? Maybe I should apologize. _I waddled over to Kowalski till I was right next him.

He turned around and jumped slightly when he saw me. "Oh, Flora, what do you want?" he asked hastily.

"Did I offend you Kowalski?" I asked sadly.

"No, what would make you think that?" He stood up, so he was facing me.

"Well-" I started as I took a step forward. Unfortunately, that dumb piece of metal was there again, and I tripped over it. I fell right over and toppled on top of Kowalski. I was right on top of him and he was under me. I could tell our faces were getting redder by the second.

I calmed down slightly when I looked into his handsome blue eyes. I felt myself lean in, and Kowalski doing the same. My eyes dropped down a little, and Kowalski eyes did the same. We were getting closer, our beaks close to touching with our faces still red and burning.

Then we jerked our heads over to the lab door, to see it open and close as Private and Sara came in. Their faces turned red from embarrassment.

"Uh…this is awkward," I said in an embarrassed tone.

Kowalski quickly, and forcefully, shoved me off. He stood up and faced the young, red, penguins'. "It's n-n-not w-what it l-looks like!" Kowalski stuttered nervously.

They didn't listen. Private quickly grabbed a nearby laser, and the two young penguins went out of the lab without a word.

I picked myself up, and I couldn't stop the stutter in my voice. "I'll j-just be o-over there." I scooted myself away and went to working on the piece of the invention.

* * *

><p>I screwed in the screws and attached the metal together, piece by piece. I added a layer of protective metal on the inside, to prevent leaks from the chemicals we would be using. Then I tightened the last screw, and I held the completed energy chamber up in the air proudly. "I'm finished with the energy chamber, Kowalski," I announced proudly. I waddled to where he was and handed it to him to observe.<p>

"Good job Flora." Kowalski admired approvingly. He took the chamber to the base part of the machine, and attached it to the invention. "And… a perfect fit!" he said proudly. He turned around back at me and smiled. "You're pretty good at science and building you know?"

"Thanks. I like working on this with you Kowalski," I admitted.

"I like working with you too. It's not often I meet someone who likes and understands science and math like me," Kowalski admitted too. "People think I'm geek."

"You're not a geek." I was blushing again as I took a step closer.

"Really?" He was blushing as he too, got closer.

"Really," I whispered. We got closer and closer to each other. Our beaks were almost touching with our faces burning.

Then Skipper came in the lab and ruined the moment. We jumped away from each other just in time. _Seriously! What does it take to get a moment alone with this guy! Do I need to rip my eyeballs out or something? _It took all my will power to not throw some metal at Skipper to make him go away.

"Have-wait, am I interrupting something?" Skipper asked with a raised brow.

Kowalski and I glanced at each other. I resisted the urge to yell, 'Yes you are! Now go already!' but I knew it wouldn't help our case. "No Skipper," we chorused.

Skipper shook his head, not really believing us. "Have you two seen Amber?" he asked. I shook my head. _Is Amber missing or something?_

"Negative Skipper," Kowalski reported.

"Well look around here for her. I need to find her!" Skipper said with determination.

_Aw, he really does care. For her at least. _

"Why don't you look outside for her?" I suggested.

"Good idea!" Skipper slid out of the lab and shut the door behind him.

"So-" Kowalski started awkwardly.

"Let's find Amber," I finished, though I don't know if that was what he was going to say.

* * *

><p>We had looked around the HQ, and Kowalski accidentally mentioned something about an elevator. I have no idea what that was, but I was going to keep quiet about it. We had finally given up and were currently waiting in silence for Amber or for Skipper to come back, whichever came first, and give us some instructions with what to do.<p>

After a while, Skipper finally came down into the HQ and faced us with eyes that betrayed his desperation. "Did you guys find her?" he asked. We shook our heads together in sync. He started ranting on and on about how this was so stupid and etc., and I tried to block out the noise by putting my flippers over my head.

After about a minute, Skipper was still ranting and pacing. Someone came down the fishbowl entrance, but I didn't bother to look. Skipper's yelling was giving me one heck of a headache. I heard muffled voices and, when I looked over, I saw Sara sitting next to Kowalski. Private came over and sat next to me.

It wasn't long after they arrived that Madison and Rico came back to. The confused pair stared at Skipper, as he was STILL yelling at the wall. Rico grunted to get his attention, which caused Skipper to slide over to them in a flash of black and white. "Did you find her?" he asked eagerly. The two silent penguins shook their heads. "Where is she?" he exclaimed, before he jumped outside.

"Do you think Skipper will be alright?" Sara asked Madison.

_I wonder if my hearing will be alright, _I thought bitterly.

Madison shrugged from where she stood. She waddled over toward us and sat next to Sara. Rico wandered over toward us, but didn't sit down. Kowalski got up as soon as Madison had sat down and waddled toward the fishbowl entrance but stopped once he was under it. He appeared to be listening to something.

"What is it, Kowalski?" I asked.

"I think I hear Amber!" Kowalski answered. "Come on!"

We all jumped out and saw Amber talking to Skipper. I smiled in relief once I saw her.

"Actually it was mostly Skipper," Kowalski admitted.

_Should've seen him yelling at a wall at one point. _I kept that thought to myself though. No use in making Amber think Skipper's a nut right?

"Well that's nice," Amber stated simply. I saw Sara go over for a hug, so I joined in. Surprisingly, Madison also hugged Amber. _She never seems big on hugs. Maybe she is getting softer._

We all went back into the HQ, and I joined Amber, Madison, Sara, and Private to watch TV. I looked behind myself to see Skipper pull Kowalski aside for a talk. I think he was at least. Skipper looked concerned and worried. Kowalski just looked a bit scared. Probably thinking about how Skipper saw us earlier.

I waddled over at the others to see Madison holding the TV remote, watching something about monster trucks and explosions. _That's Madison for you. Always violent and aggressive. _I glanced at Sara and saw her lying back with a small frown as she watched the TV. Knowing Madison and Sara, they probably fought for the remote. _That wouldn't be a surprise. They were like sisters that way._

It took a while but the show ended, which made Madison and Rico disappointed like Sara and Private were throughout the episode.

I headed for my bunk, but looked around to see Kowalski snoring away. I was glad to see he was alright and jumped into my bunk. I closed my eyes, but not before I saw Amber and Skipper go up the ladder. I snorted as I fully closed my eyes.

I began to dream of long mathematical equations and future experiments I could do with Kowalski. _Kowalski_. I then dreamed of Kowalski with a grin on my beak.

* * *

><p><strong>I think I'm losing it! Writers block is making it hard for me, and it's driving me crazy! Either way, I liked typing up this one cause of the thing going on between Kowalski and Flora. I admit; I think it's kind of cute. Please tell me what you think in a review.<strong>

**Skipper: How could you try kissing her Kowalski?**

**Me: How did you-**

**Kowalski: She made me do it! *Points to me***

**Me: HEY! And I thought I set up the security system.**

**Private: Oh yeah, you did.**

**Flora: Kowalski and I disabled it.**

**Me: -_- Grr any suggestions on how to get rid of these guys?**

**Sara: Please review!**


	11. The Party

A lot had happened during the past month, some involving screw ups in inventions, one being something similar to the Refreshinator, as the rats called it. Skipper had officially dropped the idea that the girls were spies after all that had gone on but still kept a paranoid eye on them. On a more personal level, Flora and Kowalski still couldn't get over the day in the lab and were constantly giving each other fleeting glances.

The flightless birds were all currently doing different things for the day, since it was rather uneventful. Amber and Flora were making small talk, Sara was trying to take a small nap but she kept waking up with explosions coming from the television. Kowalski was working in his lab while the rest of guys were watching TV with Madison.

"You ok Flora?" Amber asked with concern when she noticed Flora's lack of focus. It was up to her to make sure her team was in tip top shape, physically and mentally.

"Yes, I'm fine Amber," Flora responded with a weak grin.

Amber narrowed her eyes, not buying what she said at all. "Really? You've been out of it for a couple of weeks now," she pressed.

Flora sighed in defeat. She looked around, before taking Amber's flipper and going into a corner to talk in private. "It's just I have been thinking about…things..." she began.

"What kind of things?" Amber asked suspiciously but, before Flora could tell her what was on her mind, the royal pain came crashing into the underground HQ.

"Hello, silly billy penguins! The king, that is me, is inviting you to my party!" Julien announced. Honestly, he could care less if the penguins came but it was worth it to spread the word. That and there were hardly and girls in the Zoo, so he was hoping that at least the girls would come.

Madison growled at the intrusion. She got up and started making her way toward Julien.

"Stay down Madison!" Amber shouted. Madison froze but continued to glare at Julien. Kowalski peeked out of his lab to see what all the yelling was about.

"So, there's going to be a party?" Sara asked excitedly. She finally gave up on her nap minutes ago and was fully awake when she heard the word party.

"Yes! The biggest party of da year! Don't be missing it! It will be tonight!" King Julien hollered before jumping back outside to leave the penguins alone.

Sara ran up to Amber and dropped down on her knees dramatically, dilating her eyes to be irresistibly adorable. "Can we go? Please!" she begged.

"You actually want to go to the party?" Skipper asked disbelievingly.

"Of course! We love parties!" Sara exclaimed with a sparkle of truth in her friends eyes at the statement. Madison smiled; she did like parties.

"I actually wouldn't mind going," Flora admitted, coming out of the corner with Amber at her side.

"You want to go too?" Kowalski asked, now out in the open with the other penguins.

Flora muttered, "Well, it seems like fun."

"I must admit that I want to go to the party too," Amber confessed grudgingly. Madison nodded her head happily with approval.

"Party!" Rico shouted, thrusting his flippers upwards.

"So can we?" Sara pleaded.

Amber thought for a moment. She glanced at the other female penguins, who waited eagerly for an answer. _What's the harm? The worse that could happen is lack of sleep. Flora is upset… maybe the party will perk her up. _"Alright, we're going to the party," she announced; the girls all cheered.

"Well, we're not," Skipper growled.

Rico frowned and looked down sadly. "Aw…" he moaned. Madison went over to him and patted his back comfortingly.

"Don't be a let down Skipper." Amber smirked as he glared at her.

"We just don't have time for parities and such," Skipper grumbled.

"And you have time to watch TV?"

Skipper looked at the TV to see it was still on. He quickly turned it off. "That's not the point!" he shouted.

"Well it doesn't matter. We're going whether or not you guys come," Amber hissed. Skipper narrowed his eyes and walked back to the TV, grumbling profusely.

"Sorry you can't go, Private," Sara said, while waddling over to the depressed young penguin.

"It's ok, I guess," Private sighed.

"Maybe he'll come around. You never know!" Sara said hopefully.

Private smiled. _Hopefully_, he thought.

"Sara! Come over here, on the double!" Amber shouted from the table. Madison and Flora were already there, waiting. Madison was playing around with a plastic knife and was doing some sick, twisted knife game with it. Flora stared at Madison as if she grew a second head but Amber didn't seem to mind though.

"What is it?" Sara asked.

"We're going to discuss what we're going to do for the party," Flora explained. Madison nodded her head eagerly.

"So what will we do?" Amber asked. "I'm positive it's straight forward enough."

"We should just wait till it starts and do what we can with the party for maximum fun. Besides, we don't exactly know what's going to happen at the party," Flora rambled.

"I'm pretty sure they're be music and snacks," Sara added.

Madison licked her beak. _Food. _She was happy about the music and dancing too, of course. Madison then looked thoughtful. _We'll be dancing in front of other animals, won't we? _Madison smiled slightly at the thought. It'd be great to show off her moves!

"Is everything clear now?" Amber glanced at the others as they nodded their heads. "Good. Now go back to whatever you girls were doing," she dismissed.

Madison shrugged and walked back over to the TV with Amber and Flora not to far behind. Sara went back to her bunk to try and get a wink of sleep before the party started.

The rest of the day went uneventful. A couple of explosions came from the lab because of Kowalski and, occasionally, Flora, who joined him at one point. They also did training and watched TV but it was otherwise uneventful. Finally, when the day started to darken, the party began. At least, that's what everyone assumed, considering the blaring music and flashing lights coming from the lemur habitat

"You girls ready?" Amber asked, smirking with her flippers on her hips.

"Ready!" Flora and Sara chorused. Madison nodded excitedly.

"Then party central, here we come!" Amber jumped out with Madison and Flora behind her.

Sara, however, stayed behind. She climbed halfway up the ladder and paused on the bars. She turned around with a frown but a glint of hope in her eyes. "You guys sure you don't want to go? It wouldn't hurt," Sara reasoned. "It's just a party."

"Party!" Rico hooted.

"We have scheduled maintenance. You can't reschedule scheduled maintenance," Skipper argued.

Rico slumped again as well as Kowalski and Private. "Aw..."

"Oh, ok..." Sara sighed in disappointment. She continued up to the ladder and slid over to her friends.

Once they arrived at the lemur habitat, they were greeted with balloons, streamers, music and a bunch of animals for the party. Streamers and flowers hung from every corner of the habitat with balloons tied to any spot possible. There was DJ table that Julien was in control of while Maurice was making smoothies with Mort's help. It looked like _everyone_ in the Zoo was there, even the large animals. It was a surprise to see Roy there too.

Madison let out an impressed whistle.

"King Julien really can throw a party," Flora whispered in awe. Madison nodded slightly, still stunned by the appearance of the habitat.

Sara was more then excited to start partying. "Well come on! We're burning party time!" Sara yanked them all into the habitat, letting them get dragged by her strong grip.

"Sara seriously! We know how to walk!" Amber protested.

Flora found the need to correct her commanding officer. "Technically we don't walk, we waddle."

"Really?" Amber growled.

"What?" Flora whined obliviously.

Sara finally stopped dragging them once they reached the dance floor of the habitat but she suddenly grew nervous. Madison immediately jumped up to listen to the music.

"Here comes the part animal." Amber laughed, knowing Madison well enough; she would be the life of the party. It was a known fact back in Antarctica.

Madison began to un-knowingly tap her foot to the beat as she listened to the music. Her eyes started to dilate as she felt the need to dance. It was a strong urge, one that she could not ignore. Finally, the mute bird couldn't take it anymore. She jumped into the crowd of dancing animals and began to move her body to the beat, which was fast and strong, just her style.

The female penguins grinned as they saw her dance like a pro, which she was.

"I wish I could dance like that," Sara murmured with a hint of envy.

"Now's the time to practice then!" Amber shouted. Now it was Sara's turn to be dragged. Amber pulled her into the crowd of animals but released her as she began to dance next to the mute bird. She wasn't as good as Madison, but she could still dance pretty well.

Sara tried to dance but was getting shy being alone animals she barely knew.

Flora, who noticed this, slid over toward her for comfort and support. "It's ok, just do what I do!" Flora had to shout over the music just to be heard. Sara nodded her head slowly, a bit wide-eyed. Flora began to twirl around and would move her body flowing with the beat. Sara soon followed, and they danced together, mixing in with all the other animals.

* * *

><p>"Skippah, please?" Private pleaded.<p>

"That's a negative, Private," Skipper said sternly.

Private had been begging ever since Sara left and it was getting more annoying by the minute. He sighed at his leader rejecting of the request, finally giving up. Kowalski and Rico also sighed in disappointment, slowing their movements with their cleaning sponges.

Skipper looked around to see all his men upset and slumped over. The commanding officer felt bad and sighed as he finally changed his mind. "I guess we can go to the party," he mumbled. Kowalski, Private and Rico brightened up and high-fived each other.

"Woo Hoo! Party!" Rico shouted.

Private looked up happily at Skipper. "You mean it?" he practically squealed.

"Yes Private, we're granted shore leave for today." Skipper patted his head. "Now how about we go to that party?"

The guys jumped out with excitement and started heading to the party, where the animals were beginning to surround two specific penguins.

* * *

><p>By this time, Madison and Amber were starting to grab the animal's attention with their dancing. However, it was drawn away when Julien began to speak into the microphone near the DJ stand.<p>

"This partying is being off the hook but now I'll be kicking it up a notch!" The self-proclaimed monarch hollered. "Will all the shufflers get down to my mad beats!" He put a new song on, a familiar one at that to the girls. "Let's boogie to the Party Rock Anthem!"

Madison glanced at Amber, and they gave each other knowing smiles. They've shuffled before, so they were used to doing it together like it was a routine. They also knew this song by the word and beat so it made it all the easier for them. Heck, they loved this song all together!

Flora and Sara looked up from the crowd as the song started to play. They saw the crowd disperse in one spot and knew immediately that Amber and Madison were making some room for their performance. They looked at each other and slowly grinned.

"_Party rock! Yeah...woo! Let's go..."_

They stomped their feet harshly against the ground and began to shuffle with the animals surrounding and cheering for them. They threw their flippers out and flipped backwards, landing in a split, but in one quick movement, they were up and shuffling again.

_"Everybody just have a good time! Party rock in the house tonight, everybody just have a good time. And we make you lose your mind. We just want to see ya... shake that..."_

Amber almost slipped up when she saw Skipper, Private, Kowalski and Rico come up out of surprise. The guys looked stunned at their dancing performance since they never saw them dance before. All except Rico, who was enjoying the dancing to the fullest extent. Madison wasn't fazed from the guys appearance and was actually glad they showed up, mostly Rico though. He knew what she was capable of.

The two girls slid past each other on their heels and forcefully kicked out to the side. They smirked at each other and shuffled their feet to the music's rhythm. Madison flipped out of the random spotlight and allowed Amber to take the floor. The silver bird literally shook her tail feathers to the next line of lyrics.

_"-nonstop when we're on the spot, booty movin' weight like she own the block. Where's the drank? I got to know. Tight jeans, tattoo, 'cause I'm rock and roll. Half black, half white domino. Gang of money, oprah doe!"_

Amber flipped out of the spotlight as Madison jumped into it.

The mute bird made some movements with her flippers before slamming them down upon the floor and using them to support her weight as she did a handstand. Smirking, she kicked out her feet to opposing sides before flipping back onto her feet.

"_Yo, I'm runnin' through these hoes like drano. I got that devilish flow, rock and roll, no halo. We party rock_!"

Madison twirled from side to side and then stomped her foot against the ground before doing a moonwalk. She winked and smirked at her audience, though it was subtly toward Rico. The weapons expert noticed this and grinned.

"_Yeah, that's the crew that I'm reppin' on the rise to the top, there's no led in our zeppelin! Hey_!"

Amber and Madison came side to side and grabbed each other's flippers. Madison grunted as she heaved Amber up, flinging her high into the air. The Zoo animals looked up as Amber posed in mid-air, winking at them before coming back down.

_"We just wanna see ya..."_

Amber landed next to Madison, unharmed, and they paused, seeming to stare at each other in the eyes. This was all part of their routine and Flora and Sara knew it like the back of their flippers.

_"Shake that...everyday I'm shuffling..."_

Looking back at the audience with serious expressions, they shuffled in place. Their movements were strong for sure as they slammed their webbed feet onto the ground. It didn't seem to hurt but it did make the animals flinch from it. This only encouraged the two females as they upped their speed and performance level. They were having the time of their lives!

"_Get it up, get it down, push your hands up to the sound! Get it up, get it down, push your hands up to the sound! _Get it up, get it down, push your hands up to the sound! Put your hands up to the sound! Put your hands up to the sound!"__

The song kept repeating 'get up' nine times as Madison started to spin along the ground. Whether it was on her head or using her flippers to push her, it was still stunning. Her speed was immense and only got faster as the song did. All Amber did was clap and stomp her foot to the beat, grinning as she silently cheered her soldier on.

Colorful strobe lights appeared, courtesy of Julien, and made the dance all the more mesmerizing. Madison's figure moved like an outdated picture show as her movements seemed to skip from the strobe lights. She continued to spin on her head as the song got quicker before bouncing back onto her feet at the last 'get up!'

Madison and Amber then flipped backwards with their flippers and, once they got in the center of their 'stage', they dropped down and locked flippers, quickly pulling themselves back up to their feet as the song seemed to explode.

"_Push your hands up_!"

They made the crowd cheer, even Julien, who was still trying to keep up with the music and effects he was ordering Mort to put on. The strobe lights ended but bright beams came out from behind Julien's throne, lighting up the area.

"_Party rock is in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time and we're gunna make you lose your mind! Everyone just have good, good, good time_!"

They shuffled once and again, crossing their webbed feet and putting on a show of moonwalks and flips. They side-stepped each other, pointing a flipper, and shuffled all over again.

Skipper and his men were cheering along with the girls and other Zoo animals. It was an amazing dance performance, one of the best they'd ever seen, besides Julien's own 'sick dancing skills.'

_"Everyday I'm shuffling..."_

The two avian females posed as the song finally came to an end. They bowed, panting from the performance, and chuckled at the applause they got. The song went to the next track and the animals seemed to forget about the girls and resumed the party. The two female penguins slid over toward the guys, shoving past animals just to get through.

"You made it after all." Amber sounded surprised when they finally got to them.

"Who's going to keep us from a party?" Skipper smirked. "Nice dancing by the way."

Amber took a mock bow. "Why thank you." She narrowed her eyes slightly in playfulness and grinned. "C'mon Skipper, show me what you got." She wanted to see Skipper dance and, truthfully, she wouldn't mind joining him if he wasn't horrible. Madison busted out laughing at Skipper's horrified look.

"Uh no! No way, no how! I'm not the dancing type." Skipper tried to back away, but Amber pulled him away to the dance floor. Madison snickered disappeared into the mass of dancing animals again.

"Guys?" Flora asked. The guys turned around to see Flora and Sara sliding toward them.

"You made it after all!" Sara jumped over to Private and hugged him. "I knew you would come," she said over the music to the private. Private smiled and hugged her back. "Now lets party!" Sara suddenly shouted once she pulled away and dragged the surprised bird away.

"Come on Kowalski!" Flora tugged his flipper encouragingly. "Follow me."

"O-ok F-Flora," Kowalski stuttered nervously.

Flora grinned and happily pulled him over to dance. Sara had wandered over to the snack bar, Private not to far behind, which left poor Rico alone.

Madison glanced over to see Rico looking at a lost with what to do. She frowned. Out of all of them, she expected him to be the wild party animal but, at the time, he seemed like he didn't know what to do. The mute bird slipped past the animals till she reached Rico. She put a comforting flipper on his shoulder, making him look up in surprise. He relaxed and grinned when he realized who it was. Madison smirked and pulled Rico over to the dance floor, dancing next to him coyly. She hasn't danced with him for a while and doing it in front of others made her slightly uncomfortable.

Rico began to get the rhythm and beat and started matching Madison's moves. They remembered the dance they had shared that one day and began to move in rhythm again, getting comfortable as they matched each other. Both started to loosen up and laughed as they flipped and twirled, occasionally locking flippers.

Amber stopped to see Madison and Rico dancing. She frowned disapprovingly, but she had to admit that they did look good dancing together. Maybe they were getting too attached. Skipper coughed to get her attention, since she seemed to be glaring at the mass of animals.

The silver bird blinked in surprise when she looked back at him, like she had forgotten he was there. "Sorry Skips."

"Don't call me that," Skipper said, agitated.

What was the harm in a little nickname?

"Loosen up a bit. Best you do, believe me," Amber advised and began to dance again, smirking.

Skipper narrowed his eyes, but he couldn't move his eyes away from Amber. He liked the way she could move, powerful, yet graceful at the same time. He then realized he had started dancing with her again and felt his face heat up a bit. What did he get himself into?

On the other side of the habitat stood the two youngest birds of the flock. Sara and Private were enjoying the tasty treats set out for the party as they sat on little tiki stools. Surprisingly, Julien had bothered to get fish. That or Maurice was considerate enough to take it upon himself to get some.

"This is really good fish, Private," Sara mumbled with her beak full of kipper. Private nodded in agreement as he tossed another fish in his beak. Sara glanced at the dance floor to see Madison and Rico dancing really well together. She shifted her gaze to Skipper and Amber, who seemed to be having fun. Skipper looked a bit awkward though. She looked over in a different direction to see Flora trying to dance with Kowalski, who seemed extremely nervous and shy, fumbling a lot with steps.

"Poor Kowalski," Sara murmured sympathetically. She turned back to Private. "Do you want to dance with me?" she asked shyly. Private felt hot beneath his feathers but found himself nodding with a smile. Sara tugged, or more like dragged him, to the dance floor. They danced slowly and did the best moves they could. For Private, he was doing really well, with Sara doing ok in comparison.

"You're really good at dancing Private," Sara complimented with admiration.

"Thanks Sara, you're good too," Private commented with another sweet, large smile.

"Not as good as you," Sara giggled. Private smiled wider and blushed slightly.

"Alright you two, come over here," Amber snorted as she brushed past them.

Sara and Private followed her, filled with some disappointment. They had only just started to dance!

Skipper was over at the snack bar as Amber made her way over there. "I suppose this is a…uh…decent party. I guess," he admitted grudgingly.

"Well, its fun since you guys are here," Amber said as she patted Skipper's back. He smirked at her.

"It would be even more fun if we could-" Sara was cut off as Julien made a rather loud announcement as he yelled into a microphone.

"My royal subjects! It is now to be doing karaoke! Who will be first victim...I mean volunteer!"

Sara gasped in delight. "We should do it! Please, oh please, pretty please Amber!" She begged, practically bringing Amber down as she held onto her snowy white chest feathers desperately. "It'd be so much fun, so please, please, please, with a smoked salmon on top!

"Ok! Ok! Just let go of me will ya?" Amber growled.

"Hehe, sorry Amber," Sara apologized.

The female commanding officer liked the idea but she wanted Madison and Flora to be with them as well. "Let's go find the other girls then." Amber slid off, with Sara at her tail.

"All of them are going to sing? I thought Madison couldn't talk?" Private asked generally confused to Skipper, who shrugged.

* * *

><p>"Madison? Flora?" Amber shouted, trying to find her companions.<p>

The two female penguins were currently looking for their friends through a giant crowd of partying animals. She felt a tap on her back and turned around to find Madison with a smile on her face. Rico, who was behind her, was staring at them with curiosity.

"Madison, have you seen Flora?" Amber asked. Madison looked up with a thoughtful expression and pointed towards the edge of the habitat. "Let's go!" Amber shouted; Madison and Sara followed, once more leaving poor Rico alone.

Flora and Kowalski were engaged in chat and seemed to be enjoying themselves when Amber, Sara and Madison showed up.

"I guess dancing isn't that bad," Kowalski admitted.

"See? It's a lot of fun! Especially if you're dancing with someone cool like you," Flora said while blushing.

Kowalski blushed a little at her comment. "Y-you...you think I'm cool?" he asked bashfully but with a hint of nervousness but, before she could answer, Amber tugged at her flipper.

Flora looked at them with faint irritation. "What?"

"Come on! We're doing karaoke!" Sara shouted, excited.

"Karaoke?" Flora asked; Madison nodded. The brown-feathered penguin broke into a large grin and jumped up from where she was sitting. "I'm so in!" she squealed. She may be shy and hate attention but nothing would stop her from singing karaoke! She loved singing!

Kowalski looked at her with a mixture of disappointment, surprise and excitement. He wanted to talk to Flora more, but he was surprised Flora would want to do karaoke, she always seemed so shy to him. He was excited to hear them all sing of course so that was something to look forward too. He ended up waddling away to the snack bar where the other boys were hanging out.

The girls quickly went back towards the center of the habitat to hear Marlene finish a song and, by the looks on the animal's faces, it was an _interesting_ performance.

"Um, wow," was all Maurice could say.

"So who wants to go next? And if you sound like a banshee, don't bother!" Julien yelled.

Marlene growled as she jumped off to a different area. "Everybody's a critic..."

"We will!" Sara shouted excitedly. Everyone turned around to see the four female penguins standing there with confident smiles.

"But the growly penguin can't talk!" Julien yelled to the penguins. Madison growled at him, but her eyes betrayed her pain. "See!" Julien shouted even louder while pointing.

"Just let us up there," Amber growled. Julien, who was scared at this point, let them up. "You got the recorder?" Amber asked Madison. The mute bird nodded happily.

The recorder was a gift from Madison's family, her brothers to be exact, and had been improved by Flora. She had recorded a lot of music on there, and they would often sing to it, except herself, who would happily listen and dance to it. She never went anywhere without it. She grunted as she pulled it out of thin air.

The guys watched as Amber whispered something to the girls, and they all went to different spots. Madison was fiddling with the recorder as Flora plugged it into a stereo. Sara gave the three of them mikes so all the animals could hear them.

"We're going to sing, 'He's All That'," Sara announced to the audience of animals.

The four male penguins were intrigued by the choice. They waited in anticipation as the girls got into their places. Madison had her flipper ready to press the 'Play' button and boy did she look excited. Amber gave her a nod, and Madison smiled psychotically as she pushed the button. Amber then began to sing with a smooth voice into the microphone.

_"I knew it from the start...f__rom the first day that we met. __I knew to take your hand w__as something I would not regret." _She gestured to the crowd who were already awed by her singing. They were just getting started.

Flora and Sara then joined in with Amber's voice in a harmonic debut. _"Since then I found the girl inside t__hat I wanted to be. __I slowly noticed what he means to me..."_

The music got more upbeat and that's when Madison started dancing in the background. The other girls sang with gusto and tapped their feet to the rhythm.

"_He's all that! __He's all that I wanted, h__e's all that I needed, h__e is all that I have. __My baby, he's all that. __He gives me this feeling, h__e makes me believe it __that my love never ends." _The three of them winked as they sung, "_Ohh baby, he's all that." _

_"He's all that I wanted,__ he's all that I needed, he is all that I have."_ Flora and Sara joined the song with Amber again. "_My baby, he's all that_." There were smiles everywhere from the audience at this display of singing and dancing, which was all in all very enjoyable. "_He gives me this feeling, h__e makes me believe it t__hat my love never ends...__Ohh baby, he's all that."_

They girls stopped singing for the music itself to go on. Madison started to dance around a bit less when she looked over and saw that animals weren't dancing, which made her frown. They were too intrigued by the girls singing to but she wanted them to dance as well as listen.

Madison smirked when she got an idea.

She jumped down toward the animals and started to make them dance along to the music. She took their arms, swung around and danced next to them in encouragement. They laughed with good humor and slowly joined in, then it became a party again. She stopped at the penguins and gestured for them to dance. They did it awkwardly, and she laughed at their expressions. She jumped back to her friends just as they began to sing again.

_"Still hard for me to realize...t__hat I am on my way..." _they sang softly._ "__But since I've been your girl __I'm getting stronger day by day." _

Amber's foot was tapping to the beat with one flipper on her hip and another holding the microphone up to her beak._ "For everything I've left behind..."_

_"None of it was true..." _Flora sang quietly, the stares of the audience now getting to her. _"Here's my reason, I belong to you..."_ she trailed off and couldn't bring herself to sing the next words. The stares were making her begin to hyperventilate.

Amber and Sara both tried to shield Flora as they both of sang, "_He's all that!" _Flora mumbled a quick apology to her friends but all they did was pat her back and continued the song.

_"He's all that I wanted," _the three sang with a certain passion in their voices. "_He's all that I needed, h__e is all that I have. __My baby, he's all that." _

Sara patted her chest and looked at the audience with soft eyes as if she knew what she was singing about._ "He gives me this feeling." _

_"He makes me believe in t__hat my love never ends," _Flora and Amber shared the line as they smirked at the dancing audience. "_Ohh baby, he's all that."_

_"He's all that I wanted!" _Amber sung loudly.

Flora got it with just the right pitch. "_He's all that I needed!" _

Sara blinked her teal eyes, getting the attention of the audience with her adorability. _"H__e is all that I have!" _

_"My baby, he's all that," _they sung together again. "_He gives me this feeling, h__e makes me believe it t__hat my love never ends...__Ohh baby, he's all that."_

Madison started to dance around again but this time with the other female penguins as they sung. They would sing little parts of the song as she spun them around enthusiastically. _"He gives me this feeling, h__e makes me believe it t__hat my love never ends. __Ohh baby, he's all that...all that...all that..." _With that, they concluded the song and took a bow.

The animals all cheered and applauded while the guys were dumbfounded by it. They stared at them with their beaks hanging open in shock. They could dance _and_ sing?

"You know you'll catch fly's that way," Marlene teased as she walked past them to get some scallops.

They immediately snapped their beaks shut and felt heat on their faces out of embarrassment for gawking.

The girls jumped down and went straight for them.

"So how was it?" Sara asked eagerly.

"You all did a smashing good performance!" Private exclaimed.

"Outstanding," Kowalski said with an amazed grin on his face.

"I have to admit that I'm impressed," Skipper admitted.

Rico clapped his flippers together. "Uh huh! Good!"

"Thanks," the girls harmonized except for Madison who had, once again, wandered away.

"Where did she go to now?" Amber looked around furiously.

Sara pointed to the juice bar. "Oh, there she is."

"Where?"

"She's 'talking' to Maurice," Flora explained.

True enough, Madison was hanging out with Maurice. She would laugh if he said something funny, or mentioned a torture related thing happening to Julien. Despite it being pretty much a one-sided conversation, which it was, they appeared to be enjoying each others company. It looked like Maurice needed to relax and have some small chat, even if he was the one doing all the talking.

Rico waddled over to the smoothie bar, smiling slightly. Madison grinned broadly when he came over. She ushered him to come closer and held up a flipper. They shared a high-five and a laugh before Madison turned her attention back to Maurice.

The Aye-aye saw something between their exchange and already felt he knew more about their relationship then they did. "Well, I think I heard someone call my name over there," Maurice said and left with a knowing smile on his face.

Madison cocked her head in confusion. _I didn't hear anybody call his name. _She narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion.

"Hi," Rico greeted awkwardly, making Madison turn her attention back to him. She smiled slightly and waved to him. "Good dancing," he grunted. Her smile got wider and she could have sworn she felt heat on her cheeks. Rico looked at the ground uncomfortably. It was hard to make a good conversation with a penguin that couldn't talk and one that could barely even talk in the first place. "Dance?" he asked.

She jumped up and off the tiki seat happily and grabbed his flipper. Her answer is yes, Rico assumed with amusement. She brought him over to the dance floor, and they both started dancing like a single body.

However, they stopped as a slower song came on. Rico could have sworn that Julien did it just because of them. He only thought that because of the look the ringtail sent their way but he didn't think Madison saw.

The mute female held out a flipper and grinned confidently. She still wanted to dance, even if it was slower then what she was used to.

Rico smirked slyly at her. He wasn't use to the female being the more impulsive and dominant one, so he was going to change that, whether she liked it or not. Actually, he was hoping for the latter. He grabbed her flipper and pulled her close to his chest, catching her off guard.

Obviously, she wasn't used to someone being dominant over her, besides Amber of course. This was different. Madison liked it.

Rico put a wing on her waist as she laid hers on top of his and slowly waltzed across the floor. There were no casualties and the dance went smoothly. He concluded that she was an expert on all forms of dance since it had gone from shuffling, hip hop and then to a calm waltz. He enjoyed her company and found himself staring at her face with everything else fading away. His body seemed to take over the dance when his mind left.

Madison was...confused. She _never_ felt like this before. All her life, she only experienced a handful of emotions. Anger, sadness, excitement and indifference. Maybe some sort of friendliness or calmness but never this emotion. All her feelings confused her and she rarely knew what to do. She would have to make a split second decisions on how to feel before she would react but Rico...he did something to mess up her process. He was just so different and unique.

She liked different. Rico was different. He was...fun.

They were having a great time with the dance till they were interrupted by Amber cutting in.

"Alright, we're leaving now," Amber grumbled.

Madison turned around to face her leader with frustrated disappointment. _Why the heck are we leaving?_ Madison looked to see a sleeping Sara in Amber's flippers. Madison chuckled and started heading for the penguin habitat, making a gesture for Rico to follow.

"Wait, Madison, you know where the others are?" Amber inquired, looking around with tired annoyance.

Madison didn't bother to check and just pointed toward the snack bar. She didn't turn her gaze away and kept waddling back to the habitat with Rico beside her.

Amber waddled over to the snack bar and they were there alright. Madison always seemed to know everybody better then they thought.

* * *

><p>Madison and Rico were currently waddling back to the habitat. There was an awkward silence between the two penguins but it was affecting Rico much more then it was to Madison.<p>

"Good party," Rico said, trying to make a little conversation. She nodded happily in agreement. Rico looked around, trying not to set his gaze on Madison. His focus was interrupted, when something tapped on his shoulder. He looked over to see Madison pointing at their habitat. _So we're here already_. He felt relieved and disappointed at the same time.

They jumped to the other side and were able avoid the water. Rico was about to go down the fishbowl entrance, but he looked up to see Madison looking at the ground, frowning.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She looked up at him with her frown placed firmly on her beak.

He got closer to her, with a worried expression. "What's w-" he was cut off as Madison threw herself onto him and enveloped him into a big hug. He was completely stunned, but he hugged back. It felt like time stopped between them. Rico was enjoying the moment but then Madison broke away and jumped into the HQ. Rico was confused, but he went back down soon after.

* * *

><p>"It was a pretty good party," Flora said with a smile. "We should do it again!"<p>

"Yup," Amber agreed. "I just wish I didn't have to carry Sara." She looked down at the young bird in her flippers. Sara had fallen asleep from exhaustion, which forced Amber to carry her. She had a peaceful smile spread across her beak with her chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.

"You want me to take her?" Skipper offered.

Amber grunted as she shifted Sara's position so her grip would be more comfortable. "Nah, I'm good."

"Did you have fun, Kowalski?" Flora asked from behind the two commanding officers.

"Yes, it was a lot of fun hanging with you Flora," Kowalski responded. He felt himself blush and realized what he had said. "And you guys too," he added quickly.

Amber snorted and Flora was giggling slightly with a tiny blush visible on her feathers. Skipper rolled his eyes, while Private eyed Sara with care. He was transfixed by how pretty she looked when she was sleeping.

The six penguins arrived at the HQ with little to no trouble, considering Amber had to bring Sara over without waking her but with Skipper's help, she was able to do that successfully.

"Thanks Skips," Amber thanked.

"Don't call me that," Skipper growled. "But you're welcome," he mumbled. She held back a snicker and jumped into the HQ.

Madison was sleeping in her bunk, and Rico was watching TV. Flora was already getting into her bunk with Kowalski doing the same. Amber placed Sara gently into her bunk and gently placed the blanket over her. She made sure she was comfortable before lightly running her flipper over Sara's head in a motherly gesture. With a sigh, she also went into her own bunk to sleep.

"Night everybody," Amber's voice echoed in the HQ.

"Night," Kowalski and Flora mumbled.

She could have sworn she heard a grunt from Madison.

"Good night Amber." Skipper yawned, as he also went into his bunk. Rico was already awkwardly positioned in his.

"Night Skipper," Amber mumbled, "night everyone." She glanced at the girls bunks to make sure they were okay and comfortable. When everything looked ok, for her standards, she fell asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>The first song is Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO with little snippets of the song. Second song is He's All That by Cascada.<strong>

**Sorry it took so long for the update and how it's not my best chapter. I got lazy, and I dunno if I should continue my story. I guess I'll try though. I'm determined! One of my good qualities.**

**Skipper: Probably your only quality.**

**Me: Did I ask for your opinion?**

**Skipper: Yes.**

**Me: No I didn't!**

**Skipper: In your mind maybe!**

**Me: *Growls* Please review while I beat the fudge out of Skipper. Oh Skipper... *Raises up a bat***

**Skipper: Uh oh….**

**Me: *Starts chasing Skipper* Get back here!**

**Skipper: You think I want to get hit with a bat?**


	12. Teens and Injuries

**Warning: Contains blood and a slight violent theme.**

* * *

><p>The party had left all the penguins groggy and sluggish, making them wake up later then usual. Other then that, it was starting out like any other day with a bright sun and some clouds up in the sky.<p>

Amber had already gotten Sara and Flora up but they were quickly starting to fall back asleep at the table. Madison, on the other flipper, would just not get up today. The silver bird shook her and instructed, "Wake up."

Madison groaned as she flipped over in her bunk, feeling a headache. Her eyes were tightly closed and she kept her flipper on her baseball hat that was next to her.

"Madison, get up," Amber ordered, noticing Madison's stubbornness. The mute bird refused to open her eyes and growled as she flipped over again to face the wall. Amber scowled but grinned as an idea came to her. She jumped back down to the grown and smirked up at where her soldier was sleeping. "Madison," she whispered. Madison dismissed her with a wave of her flipper. "There's fish on the table."

Madison eyes flew open, and she jumped out of the bunk, excited. She whirled her head around, but saw no fish. Amber chuckled at Madison's disappointed look and smirked at her. That was an effective alternative to wake her up if shaking didn't work. Madison growled and waddled over toward Amber threateningly.

"Alright, alright," Amber said in mock defense and put her flippers in front of her defensively. She knew Madison would never actually hurt her though. "I'll get you some fish."

Madison smiled approvingly, put her hat on as she usually wore it and, with a snort, she made her way to the television set.

"What's going on?" Sara mumbled from the table where she had fallen asleep almost instantly when she got there. Her eyes slowly closed again before she flopped her bead back down onto the table with Flora next to her, snoring away.

"Nothing to worry about Sara, just get up you two," Amber responded as she pulled out some fish. Flora and Sara opened their eyes reluctantly and sat up, yawning. "Well you girls were easier then Madison, that's for sure," Amber chuckled. Madison rolled her eyes from across the room.

Flora looked around and noticed the guys weren't there. "Where are the guys?" she asked curiously.

"Out for recon," Amber replied indifferently. "Just because there was a party doesn't mean you can sleep in," she scolded, getting back onto the original topic.

"Sorry Amber," Sara apologized sincerely.

"Don't mind it and just eat up." Amber layed down fish for her team and for herself. Madison ran over there like a mad bull and quickly swallowed all of her fish before going back to the TV, not wanting to miss her show.

"Wow Madison, make sure you have time to breath," Flora joked, wide eyed. Madison laughed from across the room as she continued to watch TV. The remaining penguins went to eat their fish, drastically slower then Madison.

"So, when will the guys be back?" Sara asked.

"I think they might be here any minute. They left around 0600," Amber told them as she swallowed a fish.

Flora gulped down her fish, so she could speak. "Then according to my calculations, they should be here in approximately… five minutes."

* * *

><p>Just like Flora predicted, the guys came in five minutes after that.<p>

"How was recon?" Amber asked Skipper.

"Nothing to report," Skipper replied and went for some of his fish coffee.

"Well, there is a big group of teenagers coming to the zoo today," Private admitted.

"Are they bad?" Sara asked nervously.

Madison rolled her eyes; she could take them on if they were.

"Not really," Private responded.

Skipper took a quick glance at the clock before spewing out his coffee and looking at it with surprise. "Smoked salmon! The zoo is opening right now!" he shouted with his voice ringing throughout the HQ. The penguins quickly got out of the HQ, to see Alice just opening the gates. "Remember boys, smile and wave," Skipper told his team.

The zoo visitors soon came view, and they began to go to different habitats. Although, not many people were at the penguins' habitat today.

"Guess there isn't going to be many here, huh?" Amber said to the girls.

"Thank you," Flora whispered. She was secretly happy about that, she didn't like to see all those eyes on her.

"Excuse me?" Amber asked, hearing something from Flora.

"Nothing Amber," Flora said quickly.

Amber shook her head, and began to do adorable antics with Sara.

Madison just looked around. She didn't feel 'cute and cuddly' today. She noticed Flora next to her and nudged her side, raising a non existent brow.

"Huh? Oh, hey Madison. Do you mind if I stick with you?" Flora asked nervously. Madison shrugged, she didn't care. "Thanks," Flora whispered. Madison moved her attention over toward two male teenagers that were part of the crowd.

They had an oddly large backpack, and were staring at her and Flora with some mischievous glint in their eyes. Madison narrowed her eyes at them and growled lowly. Something in her gut told her that they were bad news. She took a step toward the teens threateningly.

Flora put a flipper on Madison's shoulder. "Don't intimidate the humans," she ordered her sternly.

Madison narrowed her eyes slightly and pushed Flora's flipper away but didn't bother the teens anymore.

Madison and Flora jumped slightly when a splash of water washed over them. They looked over to see Amber and Sara, splashing them. Madison growled playfully and jumped into the water after them. Flora, wanting to stay with Madison, jumped in too. The female penguins then began to chase each other through the water.

As they passed the teens, Madison couldn't help but splash them as she went. She snickered as they let out an angry hiss.

"Stupid penguin!" one of the male teens shouted at her. Madison rolled her eyes. She wasn't intimidated.

Sara, however, was worried about the reaction from the people. "Madison, you should leave them alone," she whispered as she slowed down to get closer to Madison, who was in the back of the four females. Madison let out an annoyed sigh but nodded anyway. Of course, she wouldn't listen to the warning.

It had gone into fifteen minutes of their cute and cuddly routine but barely any people bothered to stick around. Only those two teenagers continued to stay and watch them.

Private was smiling and waving while Kowalski was gliding across the water with the other girls. Skipper moved around on his belly while Rico did a little dance, which he thought would get Madison's attention. It did on several occasions and she would sometimes join in before being pulled back into the water by Amber.

During his dancing performance, Rico began to notice that two teens staring angrily at Madison. He stared suspiciously at the teens. He would keep his eyes on them to make sure they didn't do anything to harm her. He looked over at Madison and saw that she didn't mind them.

Whenever the teens turned towards each other for a brief talk, she would blow a raspberry at them. It only gained their attention, and they would stare at her again, briefly confused.

Sara scolded Madison again. "I thought you said you would leave them alone," she hissed.

Madison smirked and shook her head. _I didn't say anything. _

"Madison!" the young bird shouted and said seriously, "Just leave them alone."

Madison frowned and, with a groan, went out of the teen's vision. _Buzz kill_, she thought. She jumped back onto the floe and noticed Rico staring at her. She waved slightly, and he waved back with a grin on his face. The mute bird glanced up at the teenagers. They were now staring at Flora with devious grins on their faces. She eyed them in suspicion. _What are those things up to?_

The teens looked around to see if there were any people around, there weren't any, then they looked back at Flora. Cautiously, still looking around for any people, they slowly reached into the backpack.

Flora was looking at the water as she watched Sara and Amber swim down below, smiling. She was unaware of the humans plan for her.

She didn't see them take out a glass bottle. She didn't notice Madison trying to get her attention. She didn't see the bottle fly over toward her. But she did notice Madison stand in front of her protectively. Before Flora knew what was happening, Madison took the full blow of the glass bottle.

Madison gasped as it made contact with her belly. The teenagers had thrown remorselessly at her and hit her straight on the stomach. She wouldn't let Flora get hit with it. No. She would never let that happen to her or the others.

Madison looked down at herself and noticed blood coming out of her in small pools. The glass was shattered everywhere, some made contact with other parts of her body and even her face. Those parts had a little amount of blood coming out but not as much as her damaged belly. She looked behind her to see if Flora was ok since she was her only concern. She was fine, not a speck of glass on her. The only thing that was wrong was that Flora was crying over her.

"Madison!" Sara shouted.

Madison looked over and saw the horrified faces of her friends. She felt the pain; it felt severe. She had been through worse though. She forced herself to take a step toward the teenagers. It made some blood spill out, but she ignored it. She let out a grunt and forced herself to stand straight.

Their eyes went wide.

"Oh no..." Sara whispered.

Madison turned her head and saw the male humans laughing as they took out more glass bottles. _No,_ Madison thought, _I won't let anything happen to you guys! _She made her way in front of all the penguins and stood defensively, her loyalty to her friends clouding her common sense and ignoring the pool of blood forming around her.

"Aw look, the little penguin wants to protect its friends," one of the teens laughed evilly.

The second teen smirked deviously. "Well, if she wants to take the fall, then fine."

Madison brought her eyes into an intense glare. _Bring it_. She could take it.

"Madison, get out of there!" Amber shouted.

Madison ignored it and held her ground. The teens threw bottles near her feet. She didn't move, they were just trying to scare her.

The other penguins flinched each time the teens chucked a bottle. Flora was making her way toward Madison slowly to take her away from where she could get hurt. She froze in horror when the first teen noticed at her.

"Let's get that one!" the teen shouted. "It looks scared!"

Madison whirled over toward Flora and stared at her in panic. She wanted to get Flora out of the way but it was too late. The teen had already chucked the bottle, and all Flora could do is stare in frozen horror.

"Flora!" They all yelled.

It was like in slow motion. The bottle whirling at her, Madison trying to get to her with the others trying to do the same. It was all too much. She closed her eyes, awaiting the pain.

Flora shouted in agony when she felt a searing pain at her foot. She opened her eyes and saw that they bottle has smashed against her foot, making it bleed heavily. She gasped when she saw them raise another bottle. Once more going for her but with better aim.

Madison was ready though. She pushed her out of the way as one was chucked at them. The bottle smashed just too close to comfort for the both of them as it just barely missed Madison's face. The mute bird was losing a lot of blood, and it was a mystery to how she was still standing.

Rico, blinded with fury, stomped over and protectively covered her and Flora. He picked up scattered shards of glass.

"Rico don't hurt them!" Skipper commanded.

Rico threw it near their feet to get them scared and go away like they had done to them. Madison couldn't take it anymore, she was losing consciousness. She wanted to fight it but it was too difficult. She fell backwards, and Rico let out an angry wail.

The two male teens ran away in fear but not before one picked up and threw a stone at the penguins. It smacked Flora at the back of her head when she tried to help Madison. The tall bird fell unconscious when it made contact with the back of her head.

"Get them inside HQ now!" Skipper and Amber shouted.

Rico didn't hesitate, picked up Madison and jumped down the fishbowl entrance. Kowalski picked up Flora and looked at her with worry. They all hurried inside and began healing the worst. Madison was bleeding badly and had lost a lot of her blood. The all picked out the shards of glass that were in and attached to her body.

"We need to wash off all this blood," Amber said in more of an order with a straight face.

Kowalski nodded, but he kept glancing at Flora with concern. She wasn't as near as bad as Madison, but her foot was still bleeding and she was unconscious. He went to get a wash cloth, but Rico had already coughed up a few and had started wiping away the blood. Amber, Skipper, Private and Sara began to assist Rico in the task.

"I'm going to take care of Flora," Kowalski stated firmly.

Skipper was about to argue, but Kowalski had a firm scowl on his face. He wasn't going to be convinced otherwise. "Fine," Skipper said instead.

Kowalski nodded his head and treated to Flora's foot. He yanked out a rather large piece of glass that was imbedded into it. He glanced at Madison and noted how bad she looked in comparison. Her face was scratched with many cuts from the glass, and her feet were tied with bandages. He was just able to see the giant gash in her stomach before Rico tied her waist with large white binding. He couldn't help but feel grateful that Madison took the hit.

Flora might have died if it wasn't for her. She wasn't as strong and fit as Madison was. She could handle it but Flora...she would have died from her more lean body. He would have to thank her later on for that.

Kowalski wrapped Flora's foot with a bandage. He looked at Flora's head to see a rather large bump, thanks to that stone. She probably had a concussion. He wrapped the remaining bandages around her head, careful to avoid the flower on her head. He would do a scan on her later.

"Poor Madison," Sara whimpered which made Private hug her in comfort.

"Those damn people hurt her for no reason," Amber snarled, with her hatred toward people even worse and more justified.

Rico growled in agreement.

"How's Flora?" Skipper asked Kowalski, faintly concerned.

"Flora has a nasty gash on her foot and a concussion from that rock," Kowalski reported.

"We will keep watch on them, just in case," Skipper decided. "Starting when they come to."

It was a good couple of hours before Madison woke up and by that time, nearly all the flightless birds were watching TV, setting aside Rico. He was watching over the two unconscious birds, keeping his eyes particularly on Madison.

When Madison finally woke up, she groaned loudly and coughed a little from the pain on her chest.

"Awake!" Rico yelled to the other penguins.

Madison sat up slightly, using her flippers to prop herself up. She remembered that she had passed out; a couple of bottles hit her…and Flora. _Wait…Flora…Flora! Where's Flora? _She glanced around and stiffened when saw Flora passed out against a wall. She grunted as she tried to pull herself up to get to her injured teammate.

"Madison, stop!" Amber ordered harshly. Madison froze and looked at Amber. "You have to lay down." The silver avian tried to coax her to lay back down, but Madison slapped her away. "Madison!" she exclaimed in disbelief. Madison grunted and got off of the table she was layed at.

"Please, lay back down," Sara pleaded.

Madison shook her head stubbornly and made her way toward Flora. She stopped when a flipper was on her shoulder. She looked over and saw Rico with a depressed and desperate face.

"Please?" Rico rasped. Madison jerked herself away from his hold and once more made her way to Flora. Rico looked down at the ground, upset.

Once Madison was in front of Flora, she took her appearance in. Her foot was banged up pretty bad, she had a couple of deep cuts along her body and, from the looks of the bandages on her head, she probably had a concussion. She then felt something she hadn't felt in many, many years. She felt tears of pity. It came down and down. She then sat next to Flora and hugged her.

Flora woke up with a weird but comforting feeling. A warm presence next to her and yet she felt something wet on her chest. She looked down at herself and what she saw surprised her. Madison was hugging and crying on for her. She looked at Madison over and noticed how bad she looked. All because of her. Tears sprung from her eyes too as she hugged her back. Madison only cried harder when she did. They held each other as they sobbed while the other penguins watched in shock and pity.

The girls had never seen Madison cry. She never showed this kind of depression or protection to someone, _ever_. It made Sara cry, and she joined them in the sad group hug. Amber stood there, staring at them. She felt tears threatening to come out, but she refused to let them fall. She went toward the others and was pulled into the giant hug against her will.

The guys just stared at the female penguins. Concern and depression were clear on their faces.

It went like this for a long time till the HQ finally became silent. Sara, Flora and Madison had cried themselves to sleep. Amber watched over them protectively when she finally managed to get out of the death embrace.

"I've never seen her do that," Amber whispered.

"Do what?" Skipper questioned.

"Cry. I've never seen Madison cry."

Kowalski was shocked to say the least. "Really?"

Amber nodded her head. She rubbed her temple; she was getting a headache again.

"Aspirin?" Skipper asked, knowing already. Amber nodded and followed him to a table.

* * *

><p>Kowalski had at one point fallen asleep with Private and was snoring away. Rico, however, was watching over Madison. He had let a few tears fall, but he refused to cry anymore. He went toward the sleeping pile of penguins.<p>

Their feathers were matted and were streaked noticeably from crying. They had fallen asleep on each other. Sara was laying on her stomach with Flora's head laying on top of her back. Madison was still holding onto Flora with a death hug.

He waddled over toward the ruffled bird. He looked around to make sure no one was watching. When it was all clear, he bent down and lightly kissed Madison's forehead to make her feel better, like he had use to do with Ms. Perky. A small blush lit on his cheeks, but he went to the TV before anyone would notice what transpired.

As he went away, Madison smiled ever so slightly in her sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Bad ending, yes. So sad when people you care about get hurt. Madison does have a heart! I thought it was kind of sad, what do you think? Tell me in a review!<strong>

**Julien: Ha! Now she can't hurt me!**

**Maurice: Now that's just cold.**

**Me: I agree. What's wrong with you man?**

**Julien: I am da king! Nothing is to be wrong with me.**

**Me: I'll make your whole face wrong! **

**Julien: No! Not the royal face!**


	13. Thoughts

The pounding sensation that thumped inside Flora's head was not only painful but bothersome. She had a serious headache all thanks to that concussion she got from that rock thrown by those teens. The others were worrying too much about her in Flora's opinion. She noticed, however, that most of it came from Madison and Kowalski.

Madison, Flora guessed, was worried about her because she was mad that she couldn't protect her. She might even think it's her fault but it's not. It's those teenagers fault, not hers. Kowalski…Flora didn't know why he was fussing over her. It made her feel like she was a hatchling all over again. She didn't like it, but considered it was nice to know that he cared.

Flora has had a concussion for a week now. She wasn't so lucky on the damages from those young people but she was lucky enough that Madison had taken a dive for her. Flora could've died from that bottle and she didn't want that. Madison definitely didn't want that either.

Never had Flora seen Madison cry. When she cried, it felt heartbreaking. If you see someone like her cry, you know it has to be pretty bad. 'She really does care,' Flora concluded. The female strategist took the situation of Madison's own state into consideration. It wasn't good. Madison was still trying to protect and help her more intelligent friend, which was only delaying the healing of her own wounds. Madison had trouble standing and walking without any pain, obviously, because she would wince or cringe. From what it looked like, it was painful for her to slide on her belly too. It was terrible to see her in that kind of state where she wasn't very mobile. It was even more depressing to watch when she couldn't dance because of it. The expression she had was heartbreaking.

Rico seemed to have taken it the hardest, emotional wise. He couldn't even look at her in the eye without looking like he was watching a cripple. That wasn't helping Madison at all and only resulted in making her feel more depressed. The happy, excited, aggressive penguin everyone knew was gone. For now at least. Flora was as sure as heck that she didn't want her to go away emotionally. Flora knew she meant too much for them to just disappear like that, though Madison may not know that, but it's probably better she didn't. The mute bird didn't handle emotions well since it confused her so much.

It's been hard for the both of them whether anyone realized it or not. Everyone kept trying to help them but it didn't seem to be working the way they'd want it to. Flora allowed them to help but Madison wanted to do everything for herself. She was pushing everyone away, except Flora. She was the exception, and that made her glad that Madison was letting someone into her heart, even if it was just a little. Nothing seemed to make her smile anymore, not even violence. She was like a hard shell. She even stopped wearing her hat. It would just sit in her bunk, alone.

Flora? She forced herself to be happy and accept what had happened.

The brown feathered bird sighed despairingly.

She had to do an examination with Kowalski again. He has tried to examine Madison multiple times but she just wouldn't let him. Kowalski was trying to find her right now actually. She probably doesn't want to be poked and looked at. She has never been a fan of medical stuff and needles. She _really_ didn't like needles. Something she and Skipper had in common.

Flora stiffened and glanced up when she heard the door slam. She relaxed when she realized it was only Kowalski.

"I couldn't find Madison," Kowalski sighed exasperated. Flora wasn't surprised. "How can someone that makes so much noise be so undetectable?" He shook his head as he approached his correspondent. "And what's with using a plastic spoon as a weapon? What is she trying to do, kill me?"

Flora couldn't help but smile. Typical. Once you got to know Madison, you'd realized she liked to destroy, attack and kill things. Dark, yes, but it was her. Looking past that, she was a great friend otherwise. "You know her," the female avian chuckled lightly. "She does that."

Kowalski smiled up at her. It was one of the few times she has laughed or chuckled. "Shall we begin?" he inquired as he laid out his clipboard on the work table that Flora was sitting on.

Flora nodded slightly, her smile disappearing, and held a blank expression.

Kowalski tried not to frown. He's been concerned for her ever since the incident. It was rare to see her smile or laugh anymore and those small things was something he treasured. Her passion for inventing seemed to hang in a distance where she did not have the strength to reach for. All day, she spent it watching T.V or staring at plant life. She was special in his life, so to see her like this affected him too.

He undid the binding on her foot and carefully examined it before he poked it. It didn't hurt like it did when Flora had first got the injury, so it wasn't a problem anymore. Kowalski then checked all her cuts and made sure there wasn't an infection. While he did that, Flora felt everything get dizzy and fuzzy all of a sudden. She let out a groan.

"Flora, are you ok?" Kowalski asked anxiously.

"Head…hurts..." Flora managed to say through her painful gasps. She held her head in her flippers, curling up into a ball. Another one of her head pains that seemed to come up only when she wasn't lying down. She groaned at the pain in her head and tightly clenched her beak shut. Her world was spinning when she opened her eyes. "Kowalski?"

"Yes?" He sounded worried. He put a flipper around her comfortingly, though he had no idea on what to do. Medical care wasn't exactly in his field but he knew enough to try and help her through this.

"Why are there six of you?" Flora slurred.

Kowalski opened his beak to say something but by the lab door slamming open, causing him to jump in surprise. He looked up and stared in surprise.

There, in the doorway, stood Madison. She was panting like crazy like she had run miles of distance the second she sensed Flora was in pain. She struggled over to Flora as she tried to avoid all pain her injury brought. It was pitiful and heartbreaking and Kowalski suddenly understood why Rico looked the way he did at Madison.

"Madison?" Kowalski gaped disbelievingly that she would even come near here, since she was afraid that he would do tests on her. Heck, she barely slept just to avoid his needles! She looked up at Flora in concern and then looked over at Kowalski and grunted. "Flora is doing ok," he explained and looked down at the flower loving penguin.

He was lying. She was not ok. Flora's head pained her terribly, making her whole body ache. From the look on Madison's face, she didn't believe it at all.

Kowalski gently laid Flora down on the examination table, briefly caressing her face with his flipper. He only did that because he was concerned…yeah, that was his excuse. This action made Flora's vision cease its spinning, but her head still throbbed. She moaned in pain as Kowalski did another cat scan, which was the third one this week.

Madison was watching with worry the whole time.

"Are you doing ok, Flora?" Kowalski asked as he jotted down some notes.

"I feel terrible," she responded bitterly, a bit green in the face. Suddenly, something in her stomach churned that rose up in her throat. Madison was there, noticing Flora's nausea, and had a trash can at the ready. Flora threw up her breakfast and lunch into the trash can, making both Kowalski and Madison grimace.

It was nothing new. She had been throwing up a lot lately. Each time, Madison was ready. That was if she was there with Flora at the time, which she usually was. Only one time she wasn't there and it was because she was sleeping. Private had spent a while in the bathroom cleaning up that afternoon.

"Thanks Madison," Flora muttered when she finished 'tossing her cookies'. The mute avian nodded and put the trashcan down. She winced as she bent her back. Flora noticed this and blinked in concern. "Madison? Are you ok?" Flora was greatly concerned for her wellbeing. Madison has been avoiding Kowalski, so she wouldn't have to be checked on. That made her physical state difficult to narrow down.

The mute penguin glared slightly and snorted in denial that she was hurt in any way, turning her beak upwards like it would help prove her point. Figures.

"Are you willing to take an examination now?" Kowalski asked Madison with exasperation. She growled as she backed up and tried to get away. Kowalski grabbed her flipper but was met with a dangerous glare, which made the scientist freeze at the spot. He laughed nervously and loosened his hold. She struggled out of his grip and went her way towards the lab door, making Kowalski shout with uncertainty, "No hard feelings?"

"Madison!" Flora shouted painfully. Madison stopped and slowly turned her head towards the source of the outburst, her eyes dancing with worry. "Please, just let him look at you. I want to make sure you're ok," Flora begged.

Madison glanced around at different directions with a discomforted, conflicted but thoughtful look on her face. She nodded slightly in a regretful manner and Kowalski tried to lead her to the table, looking relieved himself. She shook him off and went herself.

Flora smiled inwardly. '_She's always so stubborn_.'

Kowalski gingerly took off the dirty bandages, occasionally pausing from Madison's warning growls. Surprisingly, she still allowed him to help her in removing it. They haven't been taken off since the second she got them. And that was a week ago. Kowalski finally got the last of the white binding off, revealing the wound. The gash on her stomach was bigger than Flora had expected. It was even worse, because it was not only infected from the bandages but was covered with dried up blood.

"Sweet mercy!" Kowalski cried out and shielded his gaze. He tried to hold his lunch in and dry heaved.

Madison looked at the wound with a bored expression. It seems like she suspected that would happen, or she knew it would. That or she considered this injury a low priority.

Kowalski then did what he could to get the infection out. Madison winced and each time she looked like she was getting closer to slapping Kowalski's face. After that was done, he went to check her feet next. He sighed in relief when he saw that they were completely fine. No infection, no blood, just small scars.

"Well, your feet are fine now," Kowalski said with relief.

Madison simply snorted but seemed happy at the news, even if she did try to hide it.

Flora, who had been watching, turned her gaze to the ceiling for the rest of the examination.

For a while, all she heard was Kowalski writing things on his clipboard as he documented Madison's reactions and conditions. Every once in a while, Flora would hear a growl from the wary female because of something Kowalski did. '_It's kind of amusing to hear her like that,'_ Flora decided with a hint of sincere amusement. '_Although she has been more on edge this week, not that I am any different.'_

After a while, Kowalski spoke again. "It looks like the only real problem is the gash on your stomach," he said which, surprisingly, made Madison offer a little half-smile. She allowed Kowalski to wrap a fresh new cotton one around her waist as a replacement. "There you go." He was glad to have gotten her in for a quick check and was left smiling at the thought that she had cooperated through most of it. "See? Not so bad."

Madison rolled her eyes but she smiled at him anyway. It was the first time since the injury that she had actually smiled.

Kowalski seemed just as pleased because it was like a milestone for them. Something like when a baby takes it first steps. You're thrilled at that little accomplishment.

"I still need to examine you Flora," Kowalski said, breaking the moment. He offered her a one-sided grin, giving off a ray of confidence that Flora always liked. "Don't think I haven't forgotten."

Flora groaned playfully but returned a smile. Madison chuckled and jumped off the table, waving in a goodbye gesture. She didn't feel like her presence was necessary anymore. Flora saw her wince ever so slightly, causing the female strategist to narrow her eyes suspiciously. _'She is in more pain then she's letting us believe,'_ Flora realized.

Before she could call her back, the mute teammate had already closed the door to the lab.

_'Well, at least I could spend some alone time with Kowalski…'_

* * *

><p>Madison hated medical stuff with a fiery passion!<em> 'I don't like needles or anything that's supposed to 'help' me that involve medicine.' <em>The thought made her shudder._ 'Damn it all!'_

So, of course, she got out of there as soon as possible. She just needed to make sure Flora was ok, simple as that and nothing more. Madison thought it was her own fault that Flora was injured the way she was and constantly berated herself for it. '_If I stayed up just a little more, I could have gotten her away from those bottles. But no, I passed out. I couldn't do anything. My entire fault.'_

When Madison got out of the lab, she had to admit that she was surprised to see only Skipper there. He was just sitting there with a fish on a plate and a newspaper in his flipper. "You're looking better," he commented with a smirk. Madison smiled slightly; she missed doing that. Smiling. Just so hard to do it, but she believed she could do it again, just a little. "Much better in fact."

The hefty female grunted and strode over towards him, eventually appearing at his side. She picked up the fish he was about to eat and swallowed it up, chuckling at the glare she received.

"That was mine!" he shouted in minor annoyance, but his eyes held his amusement. Madison laughed and went to get him another fish. "How's Flora doing?" he asked.

She frowned at this and paused in mid-step. Flora didn't seem any different. The headache of hers was still going on strong and she was still throwing up, so nothing new. She didn't look any better than before, besides her foot that has healed quite nicely. Madison looked up at him, and her expression said it all.

"The same?" Skipper sighed and the newspapers corners sagged.

Madison confirmed it with a nod. She quickly took a fish from the fridge and threw it in front of Skipper.

He mumbled his thanks as she sat down next to him, but he didn't eat it. Skipper had lost his appetite. This situation was affecting everyone. He just wished that those teens had never shown up. Everyone wished that.

Thankfully, the glass had been swept away and the Commissioner made a strong point on how important it was to find these teens. Even if he did discover who they were it wouldn't actually do anything. Madison and Flora would still be damaged. Skipper was really wishing they had a time machine right now.

They sat there in silence till Skipper broke it. Madison doubted she would have done it anyway.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes but not for the reason Skipper thought it to be. '_Everyone has asked me that except for Rico.' _That hurt. '_Rico hasn't asked me.'_ It may be annoying, but she wanted to hear it from him. Even if he just said, 'Ok?' She just wanted to know if he cared. He hasn't even made eye contact for a week or anything! Sometimes, she thought he was looking at her but when she looked back, he was staring at a wall. Madison frowned sadly.

"You know you can tell me what's wrong," Skipper told her.

She snorted and looked at him with a raised brow.

Realization came to him, though he only showed this with an annoyed look. "Well, you know what I mean."

She laughed, which made Skipper smirk, like he accomplished something, but Madison just let out a painful sigh.

"So you let Kowalski check on you." He said it more like a statement then a question. She nodded and pointed to her fresh bandages. "It's good to know you're doing alright."

Madison smiled weakly in return.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked. The mute bird looked up at him curiously but nodded. His eyes grew serious then. "Why can't you speak?"

That was the last thing Madison expected him to ask. But yet…it didn't surprise her. She didn't want to answer it in any way, shape or form because it was her business alone. Nobody else had to know. Madison shook her head furiously, dismissing the question. Before Skipper could say press further, Flora and Kowalski came out of the lab.

"Hey." Flora waved weakly.

Madison jumped up, concerned. She ignored the pain and went right beside Flora, looking her over and casting suspicious and accusing looks at Kowalski. This finally stopped when Flora repeatedly insisted she was fine and Kowalski had done nothing to hurt her. While that was done, Skipper took Kowalski topside to ask about their conditions.

Flora tried to walk to the T.V, but Madison nudged her to the bunks. She reluctantly went toward them, knowing Madison wouldn't let her off easy. She was laid out in Sara's bunk, she wouldn't mind and even if she did, she wouldn't have the heart to make Flora leave.

Madison waddled away, though it was more like limping away. She heard noises from above and looked up curiously. That's when she remembered that people were at the Zoo today. Funny how only Private, Sara, Rico and Amber were there to entertain them.

The injured and hefty bird made her way to the T.V, turned it on and watched whatever was on the screen. It was weird because there was this yellow sponge on there. She didn't understand what was happening, so she changed it to a monster truck show. At least there were no words to confuse her there.

Madison, for the first time in a while, put on a wide grin. She watched an entire marathon of it before she began to feel tired. It didn't take her long to fall asleep and, for a second, she thought that she heard the fishbowl entrance move aside.

* * *

><p><strong>Not my best but hey, I'm still proud of it. Tell me what you think in a review!<strong>

**Kowalski: Will Flora get better?**

**Me: You care, cause?**

**Kowalski: *Blushes* She's a friend!**

**Me: *Grins* Just a friend?**

**Kowalski: I'm out! *Rushes out my door***

**Me: Muahahahaha! The power of embarrassment.**


	14. Tender Moments

Rico jumped down into the HQ. It was silent, except the noise coming from the TV. He glanced at the sleeping form of Madison on the ground.

He mentally winced. He couldn't look at her, it hurt him too much, but he couldn't tare his eyes away from her. It wasn't just the fact that he liked to look at her that made him stare; it was the fact that she looked healthier and stronger then she did all week. She looked fresh and even the bandages around her waist were fresh and new.

How long he stared at her, it seemed like seconds when actually it was many minutes. It took him a while to realize he was still staring at her before he finally looked away. He turned away and went for the fridge for some food. He was going to eat some more fish because there wasn't enough for him up there, where the others were still doing the cute and cuddly routine for the people.

Rico glanced up as he heard a moan. It was Madison, waking up. He gulped but quickly turned back to the fridge.

He didn't want to avoid Madison, but it felt hard to be around her. He always got these weird feelings when he was near her that had been growing since he first met her. What confused him about it was that he enjoyed her. Her laugh and excitement to all kinds of things he liked. Things like, explosions, monster trucks and even big parties.

He heard a grunt and, when he turned around, Madison was right next to him, a bit closer then she should have been.

Rico was a lost for words, not that he would say much of anything. He stared into her deep, pretty, ocean blue eyes. He wanted to sail in it, and swim in them, and let the water wrap around him and never let go. He shook his head. He couldn't think about stuff like that! What was wrong with him? This felt strangely familiar and the image of Ms. Perky showed up. No. These feelings were different, more developed then what he had with his old doll.

His thoughts were broken when he heard the faintest of whimpers. Madison flinched when Rico finally made eye contact again. He frowned slightly when he noticed the hurt, sadness and exhaustion in her eyes. He swallowed thickly as he stared at her more.

She nudged him gently, and he was brought out of his daze.

"Uh...hi?" he managed to say. She frowned at him. "Fish?" he offered.

She took the fish, smiled slightly, and flung it up into the air. He stared as it came down into her mouth and swallowed it in mere seconds. She licked her beak happily, and he smiled at her. She turned her gaze back at him, but he frowned again. She frowned also and looked slightly hurt again. His eyes went wide at the realization that she thought he didn't care.

"You ok?" he asked hesitantly. Her eyes went wide like an owl. She nodded slightly, with her smile returning. "Good," Rico sighed in relief.

Madison looked around nervously before she hesitantly wrapped her flippers around Rico. She winced at the slight pressure on her stomach, but she didn't care.

Rico was startled, but he slowly wrapped his flippers around her also. The first contact he had made with her since the wound she had. The last time he touched her was when he put a flipper on her shoulder. She had shrugged it off though.

Madison smiled more as he hugged her back. She felt better. The depressing feelings she was experiencing were gone. In its place, she felt happier then she had been in a week. She felt even better when he had asked if she was ok. It meant a lot more then it should have.

They were too happy, content, relaxed and into the hug that they didn't notice a spectator.

Flora had woken up three minutes ago. Rico and Madison hadn't noticed her, thankfully. She had watched from the beginning since the moment Rico turned around to face Madison. It was an adorable moment in her eyes but she didn't say anything. This is what Madison needed and the last thing Flora wanted to do was ruin it.

Madison dug her beak deeper into Rico feathers. She breathed in the scent. It smelled nice and appealing to her. He had the smell of fish, and chlorine. She liked it in all.

Rico almost shivered when Madison dug her beak deeper into his back. He breathed in her scent as well. He was faintly surprised when he smelled salt, and the foreign smell of Antarctica. He wasn't surprised when he smelled fish on her though. He didn't mind though. It felt like a calming smell.

"Sorry," Rico murmured. Madison pulled away a little, so that they were looking into each others eyes. They both blushed slightly when they noticed how close their beaks were. Just an inch away and they would be touching. She cocked her head ever so slightly to the side. "Sorry," Rico apologized, "for ignoring." He smiled slyly when Madison grinned at him and went back into the hug. He was forgiven.

The two birds got closer in the hug but were startled out of their feathers when they heard the fishbowl slide over. They quickly jumped away from each other and were blushing a deep shade of red as they did. Rico glanced up to see who it was. It was only the other penguins.

Madison growled under her breath and wanted to throw a stick of dynamite, so they would blow them up into the sky for interrupting them. Rico had the same thoughts, except he wanted to throw more dynamite in there for distance.

"Rico, what were you doing? You were gone for half an hour," Skipper scolded crossly. Rico shrugged sheepishly. Skipper sighed exasperated. "Whatever."

Kowalski immediately waddled over to Flora. "Want to do another check up in my lab?" he asked.

Flora sighed. _Didn't I just do that with him?_ She threw that thought away, as long as she was with Kowalski, she was ok with it. She nodded and was pulled up by a happy Kowalski and was taken to the lab for the second time that day. She glanced down when she felt a warm feeling on her flipper. Kowalski was holding it as he dragged her into the lab.

"Um, Kowalski?" She asked nervously as he closed the door behind him.

"Yes?" Kowalski said, oblivious to what was going on.

"May I have my flipper back?" Flora asked shyly.

Kowalski glanced down and saw he was holding her flipper. His own flipper shot out of hers, and he put it against his side. He blushed deeply and was ashamed when his voice cracked. "O-of course Flora, sorry."

"No problem Kowalski," Flora whispered in an embarrassed tone, blushing. Sudden courage compelled her to get further. She got up close to Kowalski and leaned against him with their feathers brushing each other. They both blushed madly but didn't make a move away from each other.

* * *

><p><strong>Kowalski's POV<strong>

She was up against the side of me. It felt good and I wanted to focus on that but I was so nervous. I didn't understand women or emotions! What do I do, what do I do? I sighed silently.

_Just instinct Kowalski, use your instinct! Which one should I use though? This isn't survival is it? __Well it DOES seem to tie into penguin mating which is the main purpose of our existence, thus making it survival- _I mentally slapped myself before I got too into my thoughts. _Stop it Kowalski! You're thinking too much! Just do what instinct does._

So I relaxed into the situation as much as possible, letting instinct guide my movements. I noticed a warm feeling on my flipper again. I glanced down, and noticed I grabbed Flora's flipper again. She glanced up at me with questioning eyes. They were pretty chocolate brown eyes...

"Kowalski?" she asked, breaking me from an incoming stupor.

I cleared my throat as I spoke. "Sorry Flora, if you want me to let go, just say so." I felt my own nervousness come up again. _What am I doing? _I was suppose to be giving her a test! Deep down I knew that was a lie, at least partially. What I really wanted was to spend time with her. "Y-you don't mind d-do y-you?" I stuttered.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, but her cheeks tinted red. "I don't mind Kowalski," she whispered to me nervously.

A wide grin spread across my face, and I felt an intense heat on my own cheeks. I brought her to a table and gently lifted her up onto it. For a moment, I thought I heard her make a comment about me being a 'gentlemen' but I was too occupied in clearing away the table.

"Now, I need to test to see if your brain can still respond well when you have your concussion," I explained. She nodded in understanding. "Let's see..." I thought for a moment. _What could we do to see if her brain functions are functioning properly? Maybe running around the lab might be a good idea. _"How about you run around? We will see if you can handle it."

"I can handle it," Flora said confidently. She got up and waited for me as I got my clipboard and necessary materials.

* * *

><p>When Kowalski gave the signal, Flora started running circles around the lab. She was doing ok at first but then after the second lap around the lab, she felt dizzy and started stumbling on her feet. She felt herself trip and falling promptly afterwards. She closed her eyes and braced herself for impact that never came.<p>

She opened her eye a crack and saw the ground just inches away from her face. She swallowed as she felt herself being lowered gently but squirmed a bit so she could lay on her back. She wasn't that surprised to see it was Kowalski that saved her. He was holding onto her waist, which had prevented her fall, and was now hovering over her. One flipper held the back of her head as he layed her down against his chest. He came down onto the ground as he sat with caution, Flora laying on his lap.

Her eyes went wide as she spoke. "T-thanks K-Kowalski," Flora stuttered. She looked at him carefully. His amazing blue eyes, his slender but tough body frame, his silky feathers as they grazed against hers and the raised brow that made him look so handsome. Well, she found these looks attractive. She felt herself fall into a daze as she stared into his eyes.

"Are you ok, Flora?" he asked, concerned.

A light blush went on her face as she snapped out of her dazed state. "I'm f-fine Kowalski," she managed to choke out. "I can stand now."

Kowalski turned red as well as he helped her to a standing position. "Oh, yes, o-of c-course." He realized how close their faces were to each other and felt heat rush to his cheeks. She was only two steps away from him, _t__iny_ steps. He swallowed hard. "So I guess the concussion is more serious then I though," he muttered.

Flora frowned slightly. "You'll help me right?" she asked, taking a slight step forward, which made their beaks only inches away. Their belly feathers were brushing against each other at this point.

Kowalski felt something come over him, instinct perhaps, and grew...calm, maybe even bolder. "Of course," he whispered as he got closer. Their beaks were only a centimeter away from each other now. Both penguins had a slight tint of red on their cheeks.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," she whispered as she felt her eyes drop halfway.

"Good," Kowalski murmured with a silky voice. He made his move and their beaks were pressed against each other into a sweet kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Aw, how sweet! I know penguins can't kiss. Small chapter, I know. Please tell me what you think!<strong>

**Kowalski: Thanks.**

**Me: For making you kiss her?**

**Kowalski: *Blushing* Maybe…**

**Flora: Aw, that's so sweet!**

**Kowalski: Really?**

**Me: Ok, I'm done with this mush. Get out of here, scat, or I'll make Rico and Madison beat you into a pulp!**

***Madison and Rico pop out of nowhere***

**Rico: *Hacks up two bats***

**Kowalski and Flora: AAAHHHHH! *Run away with the two psychotic penguins chasing them***

**Me: Muhahaha, I'm evil. Ok, anyway, please review.**


	15. After the Kiss

The feeling of the kiss startled both penguins. It felt amazing, wonderful and...well, amazing and wonderful!

Flora moved her flippers around Kowalski's neck as he moved his flippers around her waist. Kowalski pressed his beak harder against Flora's for a deeper kiss and was encouraged to go further when Flora happily returned the kiss. The brown-feathered bird shivered as Kowalski started to gently rub her back, holding held her carefully. They were on cloud nine.

"What the-?" a voice shouted.

The two penguins froze and parted slowly.

Standing in the doorway was Amber.

Kowalski mentally slapped himself. He forgot to lock the door. Flora was shocked but she didn't regret anything that happened. "Uh…" was all they could manage to say.

"Flora, come outside with me, now!" Amber barked in anger. Flora swallowed and waddled out of the lab with Amber.

"Kowalski, what just happened?" Skipper asked suspiciously as he slammed the lab door shut. He was right behind Amber the whole time.

"Uh… I kissed Flora," he mumbled honestly and smiled ever so slightly. It was a good kiss, it was worth it. He realized something. _Why did I do that? Do...I have feelings for her? Do I really like her THAT much? _

He thought about it and mulled over his feelings for her. What she did, what she looked like, her personality and her clumsiness. All together, he enjoyed being with her or just _seeing_ her. He found her clumsiness cute, and she looked beautiful in his eyes. Not to mention that they both have a passion for math and science. He then came into the delightful realization, _Yes. I really like Flora._

"Kowalski!" Skipper shouted in his face that broke him out of his daze.

"Yes Skipper?" he asked hesitantly.

"I can't have you distracted!"

"But Skip-" Kowalski started, but Skipper cut him off.

"Not buts Kowalski! I can't have you distracted. Comprende?" Skipper didn't give him time to answer when he stalked away.

Outside of the lab, Flora followed Amber. She flinched when the door was slammed shut as Skipper exited the room. Skipper looked angered but Amber was seriously pissed off. She could burst at any moment with her anger centered directly on Flora. Amber didn't know who kissed who, but she knew that Flora didn't fight it.

They ignored the looks they got from the others when the lab door slammed shut and up the ladder, going topside.

Flora noticed the zoo had just closed ten minutes before, so they didn't have to worry about humans. Amber flipped the fishbowl back into place, so no one could hear their conversation, at least not very well, and whirled at Flora with an angry glare.

"What was that?" Amber demanded loudly. Flora was about to speak, but Amber didn't let her. "You can't love! In this troop you don't love! It's a distraction and it affects our operations!"

Flora flinched at the rage building up in Amber. She was worried the others could hear her yelling. "But-"

"No! I don't care, ok? Love will just stab you in the back! I don't want that in this troop! Love is stupid!" Amber shouted.

That was it. Flora was pissed. Love was not stupid! "It is not! I may not know that much about it, but I do know one thing. I love Kowalski!" she yelled in Amber's face angrily. Flora immediately realized what she said and covered her beak. She looked around anxiously to see if anyone heard. Her eyes went wide at the thought of Kowalski hearing what she just said.

Amber was shocked that Flora would yell at her like that but that didn't stop her from yelling back. "What would you know? It was a dumb kiss! What makes you think you like this guy?" she howled.

"It was not dumb!" Flora said with tears springing from her eyes. _I know I love him! _She didn't like crying, it made her feel like a little child. She knew that was how Amber felt too. Tears dripped off from her beak as she tried to look at the ground, avoiding the glare she was getting from her commanding officer.

"Love is stupid and pointless! It's only going to bite at you and nag away at your soul!" Amber was determined to make Flora see the truth.

"How would you know?" Flora screamed into her face, finally looking her back in the eye.

"Because it happened to me, alright? I fell in love too many times. It was all lies, just to get my secrets, to kill my loved ones..." Here, Amber faltered but started up strong again. "It was never real! They would hurt me, abuse me! You have no idea what I went through, and I refuse for that to happen to you!" Amber was crying and yelling with what hurt her heart the most. Love.

Flora had her beak hanging in shock, her eyes wide with concern. She didn't know much about Amber's past, or the other girls in fact, but what she said sounded horrible. "I think these guys are different. Kowalski is different. It's not like Antarctica," Flora whispered to Amber gently and soothingly.

"It wasn't just Antarctica," Amber sobbed. "It was back at my old home, all-" Amber cut herself off. She wasn't about to tell or replay the events that had happened to her. She was not willing to tell her past, that was for her to know, and the others to forget about.

Flora felt such a strong amount of sympathy. She pulled Amber into a comforting hug and allowed her to sob into her chest. Flora was beginning to cry again too.

"Love is like venom," Amber chocked out. "It slowly kills you on the inside."

"Not all love is like that," Flora reasoned as Amber pulled out of the little hug.

"For me it is," Amber hissed, composing herself once more and building her wall again. "I don't want to deal with this anymore." She rubbed her eyes to get rid of the stray tears. "Just go, we got business to take care of tomorrow. Make sure to remind the other girls to meet up at the Zoovenier shop, no more briefing since I told them yesterday."

"But Amber-" Flora started, but Amber held her flipper up for silence.

"No more talking Flora, I'm exhausted." It wasn't a total lie. She was emotionally drained and wanted to be left alone. Amber cradled her head in her flippers from the headache she had received from all the yelling and shouting.

"Yes, sir." Flora muttered before going down into the HQ.

Amber snorted. She had preferred Sir over madam or anything of the sort. She wanted that because of how sexist guys could be since they thought girls couldn't make good commanding officers. At least the guys she meant were like that. Skipper didn't seem like that anymore, it was just that one time when they first met and loathed each other. She shook her head. _Stop thinking of Skipper. He's just another guy._

But the more she tried to get him out of her head the more he was pressed into her mind. Getting frustrated, she decided to do some of her own recon to clear her head. She nimbly jumped out of the habitat and slid on her belly toward the clock tower.

* * *

><p>When Flora jumped back into HQ, everyone had their eyes on her. She felt her face get red from their inquisitive looks and she suddenly felt like hyperventilating. She was not use to attention. "Stop looking at me!"<p>

They all darted their gazes away, all except Madison.

Madison scowled. They couldn't really hear them, but they knew what it was about. And from the puffy red eyes on Flora, she could tell it wasn't pretty. _She must've been crying. _Madison and Sara waddled up to Flora silently. The whole HQ was silent actually. Sara put a comforting flipper on Flora's shoulder.

"It'll be ok," Sara reassured gently. Madison nodded in agreement.

Flora sighed. "I hope," she whispered so quietly you probably wouldn't have heard her if it weren't so quiet in the room.

"Well," Skipper cleared his throat awkwardly. He suddenly felt like the bad guy. "Let's, uh, do…um, some training, ok boys?"

The guys simply followed Skipper and went topside.

Kowalski paused from climbing the ladder and glanced at Flora, holding an apologetic but meaningful look on his face. His eyes held sadness and sympathy. He continued up and Sara waited in a moment of silence before she dragged Madison and Flora into the lab. She closed and locked the door before letting go of her friend's flippers.

They were use to being dragged, but they still didn't like it. Madison growled as she brushed herself off, careful not to touch her stomach. Flora just got up and straightened the flower on her head with a small frown on her face.

"Ok, so what happened?" Sara asked excited.

"Huh?" Flora tilted her head, confused.

"What made Amber so mad? We didn't hear what happened, but I want to know what you guys were arguing about." Sara was extremely interested, always the one to hear gossip.

Flora sighed, relived. They didn't hear what they had said. "Did you hear us?" she asked Madison. She shook her head in response. "Good," Flora muttered. A blush went on her face as she realized the question. "So…you w-want to k-know what h-happened?" she stuttered.

Madison raised a brow with an amused smile on her face.

Sara was giggling with excitement and curiosity, happening to like gossip, a lot. She jumped up and down as she squealed, "Yes, yes, yes!" It had to be good if Flora was blushing. "Give me all the details!"

"I might have, well he, well um, I kind of, you know, sort have, might have intended-" Flora tried to say, but Sara impatiently cut her off.

"Spit it out already! I want to know," Sara whined.

"I kissed Kowalski!" Flora rushed.

Madison's eye twitched and she had a disgusted look on her face. She stuck her tongue out as she made a 'bleh' sound.

Sara, however, was laughing uncontrollably. "You kissed Kowalski?" she managed to say through her laughs.

"Well, he kissed me but yes," Flora responded, blushing more then ever. She was lightly offended by the two penguin's reactions.

Sara finally managed to pull herself together and had a dreamy expression on her face. "That's so sweet and romantic." She sighed dreamily. Madison felt sick. She didn't do sweet or romantic. She had to hold her lunch down, as the conversation progressed. "What did it feel like?" Sara asked curious.

"It felt amazing!" Flora said just as dreamily as she remembered the kiss. "He was so handsome, with his silky voice and-" Flora was cut off with Madison's flipper clamping her beak shut. Madison had enough of that mush. She left the lab with that.

The two penguins gleefully continued their chat once she left.

Madison had been watching TV for no more than two minutes before she was once more dragged back into the lab by, none other than, Sara. She let out a yelp in protest when the lab door closed behind them. She groaned as she pulled herself up again and, when she got up, winced from the pain on her chest. The dragging was not helping her wound but she wasn't going to admit it though.

"Sorry Madison, but I got to tell you guys something," Flora explained.

Madison held a blank expression as Sara leaned in eagerly. Flora looked around warily before she locked the lab door shut. Madison raised a brow in interest. "Ok guys," Flora whispered. "We have to meet Amber at the Zoovenier shop tomorrow to discuss 'things'. Remember?" Flora had to make sure that they be careful of what they said, just in case the guys were around or had the place hooked up.

Sara and Madison, with determined and understanding looks, nodded.

"Good," Flora sighed, relieved.

They all knew what they were going to discuss and do but part of them didn't want to believe what was going to happen. In order to make sure that they weren't compromised, they would need to be able to take all the animals in an instant, even the penguins.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! I'm happy making chapters like this. Well, tell me what you think.<strong>

**Sara: What do you think were going to discuss?**

**Flora: Will Kowalski and I survive in a relationship?**

**Amber: Will the guys find out?**

**Me: Will all of you ever shut up and leave me alone?**

***The girls glance at each other* **

**Sara: Review!**


	16. Little Mission Returns

**Alright, it's the return of the little mission! I'm going to enjoy this one. It's the next day at night BTW.**

* * *

><p>Four penguins were asleep in there bunks. Unaware of the watchful stares of four figures. One of the figures gestured toward the ladder, and the other figures nodded in response.<p>

They all jumped out into fighting stances and glanced around cautiously before clearing the fence around the penguin habitat. They landed nimbly on the ground and, once more, checked around to see if the coast was clear.

One of the figures did a series of movements with its flippers and the other figures nodded in response.

The first figure went under a bench, the others not far behind. Silent as can be, the shadow slid past a lamppost. It was a flash of silver and white, and then it was gone. The others followed and were just as quick and silent. They met up at a door to Alice's office. The leading figure jumped up to the knob, and unlocked the door with its flipper. The others slipped in as the leading figure made sure they all went in. It cautiously looked around before it also entered the office.

The leading figure jumped up to the others on a desk, and faced a flashing computer. "Flora, can you hack into the system?" the leading figure whispered.

"Piece of cake, Amber," Flora replied confidently with the computers light revealing her body along with the other girls.

Amber turned to the other penguins. "Sara, look for anything useful about this place and its inhabitants," Amber instructed to the smallest penguin. Sara saluted, and quickly jumped over too the file cabinets. "Madison, keep a look out, but don't be seen through the window."

Madison saluted, jumped near the window, and peeked out the corner, keeping watch.

"I did it, Amber," Flora murmured loud enough for her to hear.

"Excellent. Look up the zoo files," Amber commanded.

Flora did so, and exceptionally fast. "Anything specific?" Flora asked. "Look up..." Amber thought for a second. "Penguins first," she finished. Flora narrowed her eyes as 8 files popped up. "Lets see what these guys have on record," Amber muttered, more to herself then anyone else.

Flora clicked on the first file. It was Private.

"What does it say?" Amber asked thoughtfully.

"It says, youngest of the male penguins, has blue eyes, and is the chubbiest of all the penguins. Currently healthy." Flora began, avoiding the complicated things. "Has been voted most watched penguin on the internet, earning the nickname 'Slippy', transferred from a Zoo in London, and is signed up for the breeding program," Flora finished.

"Anything else?" Amber asked.

"Nothing really," Flora responded, slightly disappointed. "Nothing of use to see them as a threat or necessarily useful."

"The others, please." Amber rubbed the bottom of her beak thoughtfully.

Flora exited out, and pulled up another one, this one was Rico. "Male, blue eyes, heaviest of all the penguins for a odd reason. Currently healthy." Flora scanned the screen and rolled down the screen. "Has a scar for reasons unknown, arrived at the zoo from a transfer of unknown origins. Also signed up for the breeding program."

"Interesting," Amber mused thoughtfully. "Another one."

Flora pulled up one of Kowalski. She was interested in this one. "Male, blue eyes, tallest, and thinnest of the male penguins. Currently healthy," Flora said with a small smile. "Appears to be afraid of the dentist." She giggled at that part. The others briefly laughed at that. "Brought to the zoo with another male penguin…" Flora swallowed her excitement as she read what was next. "Also signed up for the breeding program."

Ambers eyes flashed with some type of emotion, noting Floras actions. She ignored the other penguins stares as she spoke. "Next," she hissed. She was still mad about what had happened yesterday.

Flora sadly clicked the close button and clicked on a file on Skipper. Flora snuck a glance at Amber, and saw the same look she had when she pulled up the other penguins information.

"Well?" Amber snapped impatiently.

Flora brought her attention back to the screen and cleared her throat. "Male, blue eyes, strong build, currently healthy." Flora looked at Amber for any kind of response. She was greeted with a simple sniff.

"Go on." Amber sounded slightly less impatient.

She turned back to the screen to finish the rest of the page. "Afraid of needles, and was brought to the zoo with another male penguin. Signed up for the breeding program like the others, Sir." Flora finished.

Amber narrowed her eyes as a idea came up. "What do they got on us?" Amber asked curiously. Madison and Sara looked up interested. _What did they have on them? _They all thought.

"Back to your stations!" Amber barked. The two quickly focused back on there assigned tasks.

"They don't have much on us. Just our physical description, gender, and saying we are here for the breeding program," Flora reported as she went through the files. "It does say we're healthy. My guess is that the doctor from Antarctic sent our medical report."

"Good, we don't need them knowing about us. We also don't need another check up." Amber got closer to Flora. "Look through the other zoo files, memorize them, and report anything suspicious or interesting," she ordered and then she jumped to Sara, and assisted in looking through the paper files. Flora saluted, and went back to the computer. "Find anything yet?" Amber asked Sara.

"Not yet." Sara sighed in disappointment. Amber frowned slightly, but turned over toward the direction where Madison was taking watch. "Is it all clear?" Amber asked to Madison from across the dark room. Madison nodded through the darkness. "Excellent, all going to plan." Amber smirked.

* * *

><p>After a while Flora finished looking through the computer files, and got rid of any trace of them being on the computer by wiping the history and exiting out of everything. She had went over to the files that Amber and Sara tossed in a specific area they classified as interesting. She read through them, and memorized the information. All of it gave her a mild headache, but she tried to hide it. "Amber I had found something on the computer."<p>

"What was it?" Amber asked curiously.

"Its about the boat were taking to get back to Antarctica," Flora responded. Before she could say anything more, Madison whistled to get their attention. Their heads shot up at her, and saw Madison was waving her flippers around hysterically. She was trying to signal that someone was coming. The others panicked, their mission was compromised. Someone was coming. They quickly put the files back and made sure no evidence was left. They all jumped into a ventilation shaft that they had opened for this sort of thing. Then it was closed it, and screwed it shut just as Alice came in.

"Ugh, why does it smell like rotten fish in here?" Alice complained. Amber nearly smacked her head against the wall but Sara stopped her in time. It would only alert Alice. Amber made gestures too go deeper into the shaft. They had to escape before they were noticed.

Sara sighed in exasperation when they reached a dead end. "A dead end? Of all the-" Sara complained but Flora interrupted. "Actually we can go up." Flora was up in front, so she was able to see how far they would half to go. "Approximately 5 feet Amber," Flora reported. Sara felt embarrassed from her mistake and went a little tint of red because of it.

"Alright, climb girls, climb," Amber ordered briskly.

Flora went up with Sara underneath her, but her headeache created by her concussion was starting to get to her. "Amber," Flora moaned in pain.

"What is it?" Amber asked concerned. "My…head," Flora groaned. She felt her self slipping. "Sara!" Amber shouted. Sara knew what to do and caught Flora just in time. It was extremely hard for her to do so. The weight and the fact that Sara had only one flipper and two feet to hold herself up was tough. It was even harder because she had to climb up.

"Don't worry I'll help." Amber came up close to Sara, and pushed her up with her head. It looked awkward but it'd get the job done. Once the three got up they looked down to see Madison struggling to join them. The pain in her stomach was terrible. Using her upper body strength to get up was hard for her. It sent a searing pain throughout her body. "Need help?" Amber asked.

Madison narrowed her eyes and let out a menacing growl. She tried with all her strength to get up, and it felt like forever till she got to the top. _Worst 5 feet, ever._

Amber yanked Madison up completely and they rested for a minute to catch there breath. They sat down panting on the roof of the building for a few minutes.

Once they felt better, they jumped down the building, and went toward the Zoovenier shop. Madison had trouble getting down, along with Flora too. So Madison reluctantly and bitterly let the girls help her. Flora was more open to help and she was groggy and seemed half asleep.

Amber waddled to the door and jumped on to the knob and was able to unlock it. She opened it, and rushed the others inside. She didn't bother turning on the lights, it would only let the zoo know there were some animals in here, and Alice might set her attention here also. Then they would be discovered, and they would be in a load of trouble.

"Ok, so what were you going to say before we were rudely interrupted with our little zoo keeper friend?" Amber inquired too Flora.

Flora groaned, as she tried to focus, and remember. "The boat right?" Flora asked dizzily.

"Maybe you should rest for a minute?" Sara suggested.

"Good idea, Flora you can-" Amber cut herself off. Flora had passed out on the ground, and was sleeping. "Ah, wonderful. If she isn't awake in 30 minutes, I'm going shake her awake." Amber laughed lightly.

* * *

><p>Madison was currently looking at all the things in the shop.<p>

They've been at the zoo for about a month and they haven't actually been IN the Zoovenier shop. Sure they saw the outside, but they haven't got to look in it. They were all to busy with training, and getting use to each other and the other animals.

Madison stopped when she reached penguin plushes. It looked like Private and only him alone. Madison smiled vaguely. She slid on her stomach to Sara, which pained her a lot. She pulled Sara and, just for payback, she dragged her roughly to the penguin plushies.

"Did you drag me like that on purpose?" Sara asked bitterly. Madison only laughed, and pointed to the Private plushies. "Those look just like Private!" Sara gasped as she caught sight of them. Madison rolled her eyes and went to look for something more interesting to her own taste. She grinned as she found a yellow foam finger. She laughed evilly as she took two, and made her way back to Sara. She was faintly surprised to see Sara transfixed at one of the Private plushies. She got a devious smile as she jabbed the side of Sara.

"Hey!" Sara squealed as she was broken out of her daze. She didn't appreciate being jabbed like that, not like anyone would. Madison kept her devious grin and threw one of the foam fingers at Sara. She yelped in surprise when it smacked against her face. _Oh, it is on! _"Your going down!" Sara threatened as she equipped the foam finger. Madison smiled, that's the reaction she was hoping for.

They began to spar with the fingers as Amber kept a look out at the window. Flora was still sleeping on the floor. Amber glanced at the clock to see it was 0200. _We got to hurry up_. She thought. She jumped back to Flora, and shook her awake.

"Huh, I didn't do it," Flora mumbled.

"It's 0200, we got to hurry this up. Skipper will wake up around 0500. We got to hurry," Amber explained. "How would you know when Skipper wakes up?" Flora inquired teasingly. Amber glared so fierce that Flora flinched and moved her gaze to the ground. She was surprised when Amber answered her. "Don't think I would waste a month to not prepare precautions, and take every detail from when I sleep for granted." Amber smirked. "I always sleep with one eye open."

Floras eyed her suspicously. "Really?"

"No, but it sounds cool when I say it." Amber chuckled. Flora broke into a smile. "So anyway, what was it you were going to tell me?" Amber asked anxiously. "Oh um, yes, the boat. Um… let me think." Flora tried to desperately to rember. Then it hit her. Literally. "Hey!" Flora shouted. Sara had fallen on top of her.

"Sorry! I blame Madison!" Sara yelped as Madison jabbed her once more on the side. They froze as they heard a sound. They looked at the window, and saw Alice wandering by the shop.

"Move, move, move!" Amber whispered. They all quickly hid with the penguin toys and tried desperately to blend in.

Alice came in, and looked around suspiciously. "I could have sworn I heard something. Oh well, not my problem," Alice muttered as she locked the door to the shop.

"Now were locked in," Sara murmured.

"That's not a problem." Amber rolled her eyes. It honestly really wasn't a problem at all. "Seriously Flora, what about the boat?" Amber asked, now very impatient.

"Oh yes, well, apparently, the storm had stopped earlier then expected. So the boat will be leaving in a month from now," Flora finally explained. Amber smiled slightly but then, for some reason, she frowned along with the other girls.

Why? Why were they upset? Well, maybe it was because it was starting to feel like home. The guys were like a family to them now too.

Amber didn't want to accept it. It was hard to trust. Sure, she could trust other penguins real easy, but to have her full trust...that took a lot. It didn't take much for her to put her full trust in the girls. In fact, they helped her survive physically, and mentally. She could say the same for Madison. She didn't want to say the guys were close to her, but it was harder to say that they weren't. They had to mean nothing to her. She had to force herself to say that she didn't care for them. It was painful, but it had to be done. Love was only a distraction. Family, friends, and love relationship, all a distraction. But why did she take the risk anyway?

Sara was happy to call the guys her friends. They were fun, nice, and acted like real friends. They were like a little family to her. Especially Private. Family. That was something she didn't really have anymore. If it weren't for Madison surprisingly, she would be with her family in the sky. The guys, and girls were her family now. The guys. There was a big part of her that felt guilty for going behind there backs, and betraying there trust. Flora might have felt the same, but she was pretty sure Madison, and Amber didn't care. Either way, it was pretty much over from the start anyway.

Flora couldn't have felt more broken. She was going to leave Kowalski. The guy she loved. She was going to leave all her new friends here. It didn't matter. Amber was right. Love was a distraction. They were going to leave at some point, right? It was painfully obvious that it was going to happen sooner or later. This felt like a home to her though. It was a lot less dangerous then at Antarctica. But that's what made home exciting. Danger. They were going back, and she felt torn.

Madison was officially confused. They were leaving early. Shouldn't she be happy about that? She felt…disappointed? Was that right? It felt weird. It felt like her heart had fallen, like a brick in water. It was confusing. They were going home! Why wasn't she happy? She wanted to go home from the second she got out of that crate. Now she felt like staying. She wanted to be with her friends, but… the guys were her friends now. She wasn't suppose to feel attached. That meant trust. Trust wasn't something she thought she could do for anyone, but the girls. What was going on?

"So… we will be leaving early?" Sara choked out.

"Yes," Flora answered simply. Madison narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion.

"What's wrong Madison?" Amber asked, seeing Madison's confusion. Madison looked thoughtful. She shook her head and shrugged. Amber glanced outside at the clock. It was close to 0300. "C'mon, lets get back to the HQ," Amber ordered. The others followed Amber without hesitation. She was able to unlock the door and they started their way back to there habitat. They made it past benches, lampposts and the habitats without being seen.

They jumped gracefully into the penguin habitat. With caution and being as quiet as they could, they went down. Amber helped them get down, so they wouldn't make noise. That and Madison, and Flora weren't very steady at the moment, considering they had there injuries because of it.

When they turned around they let out a startled screams. The guys were standing there just as surprised. Except Skipper, who had his flippers crossed over his chest with a stern glare.

"Well, well, well. What were you ladies doing?" Skipper spoke up. Flora swallowed thickly. She desperately didn't want anyone to notice.

"We were swimming," Sara lyed with her voice shaking a bit.

"Then why aren't you wet?" Kowalski inquired suspicously.

"We dried our selves off," Flora put in nervously. Madison nodded as she tried to support Flora.

"Really?" Skipper asked disbelievingly. The girls nodded.

"Why didn't we hear you?" Private asked.

Madison shrugged her shoulders. There wasn't much of a excuse for that.

Skipper narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You girls should sleep outside," Skipper said blankly without any remorse.

"You aren't serious, are you?" Sara squeaked. "Kicking us out? Just like that?

"Skipper, maybe you should let them off," Kowalski tried to reason.

"Remember what I said Kowalski?" Skipper reminded him. Kowalski shut his beak after that.

"Fine," Amber hissed, who had stayed silent till that point. Skipper eyes stared in surprise at the girls when their expressions turned into blank, emotionless ones as if they were one. They had unreadable eyes. It was just a blank vacant space on their faces when they went up the ladder after their leader without a single hint of hesitation, as usual.

"Skippah! What did you do?" Private accused.

"What I had to do, young Private," Skipper said coldly. "Now get to sleep, all of you."

They all reluctantly went into there bunks for sleep, after there leader. Rico glanced at the red hat, sitting all alone on Madison's bunk. When the others weren't looking, he snatched it, and went into his bunk. He acted as if it never happened, as he snuggled up to it. It still smelled like Madison, besides the dust that covered the hat. He sighed to himself. _What will happen now?_

* * *

><p>"This is perfect," Amber said sarcastically. Madison snorted as she layed on top of the fishbowl.<p>

"Actually, it might really be perfect Amber." Flora smirked slyly.

"Really?" Sara said jumping back onto the floe from her quick swim and shook her feathers free of water. "Yes. Now we can discuss our plan." Flora grinned as she took out a notepad and pencil.

"How long have you had those and where have you had them?" Amber pondered the subject.

"Madison," Flora simply answered. Madison laughed. She had taken it when no body was looking. Wasn't that hard since it was right next to her. Flora began to scribble furiously on it. "According to my calculations, the boat will leave in February, around 6 in the A.M." Flora said when she finished her calculations. She was positive they were correct.

"So we had missed Christmas back at home?" Sara sighed, disappointed.

"You do realize during the week we were looking for fish at the storm was when Christmas happened, right?" Flora asked skeptically, crushing Saras remaining glow of happiness to a pulp. Sara lowered her head and shook it as a answer.

Amber patted her back comfortingly. "So what day are we leaving?" she asked.

"The day before Valentines day," Flora murmured sadly. Sara frowned. She was hoping she could spend Valentines day with the guys. Just hoping...that maybe...

"Well, I guess we got to grab the ball and roll with it, huh?" Amber mused while rubbing the bottom part of her beak thoughtfully.

"Absolutely," Flora responded. Madison nodded in agreement.

"Well lets discuss the details of our plan." Amber sat down with the rest of the girls as they started talking about there plan of action.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, it looks like there going home early. So sad! The guys don't seem to trust them anymore, well Skipper at least. Thankfully because of all the drama, they're leaving me alone. <strong>

**Marlene: Will Madison understand her feelings?**

**Me: What the-?**

**Maurice: Will Skipper forget his suspicions about the girls?**

**Me: Seriously where-?**

**Julien: Will I finally be rid of the annoying, flightless birds? I hope I do.**

**Me: That's it! I'm going to set you all on fire with my author powers unless you all leave!**

**Mort: What about me. *Puts on sad eyes***

**Me: Aw your so cute! The rest of you guys will explode if you don't leave!**

**Julien, Maurice, and Marlene: Uh...**

***Julien, Maurice, and Marlene are flung away on a catapult***

**Me: Ha, now review. Cheesy bits for everyone!**

**Mort: I dont like cheesy bits! *Eats a few chips***


	17. Forgiveness

The next day was pretty tense between the penguins. It was all quiet in the HQ, an awkward silence you can imagine. The only sound was the TV that was showing The Lunacorns, much to the displeasure of Madison and Rico.

The girls decided last night that it would be best if Flora looked through the security footage and erase the slightest bit of their little operation that happened. Flora had done it successfully and was able to get back to the habitat undetected. Impressive, since she had that concussion.

Her concussion was getting better though. She hadn't thrown up in a while and barely got dizzy or anything related to it. She just needed time. They were positive that she would be better for their trip back to Antarctica. They weren't so sure about Madison though. She was still struggling in her condition, and since she wanted to do everything for herself, it wasn't helping.

Currently, the girls were playing cards at the table while the guys were watching TV. Only Private seemed to be enjoying the program with Rico coming close to sleep and Skipper and Kowalski watching with mind numbing boredom.

Amber quickly glanced at the girls expressions. She had a bad hand and she was losing, and she _hated_ loosing, since it almost never happened. It wasn't stacking up in her favor. Flora seemed confident; Sara looked confused at her cards, where Madison looked rather bored at it all. It was dangerous when she got bored.

"How about we do something else?" Amber suggested.

"Afraid of losing?" Flora smirked. Amber shook her head and pointed to the bored Madison, who was starting to gnaw on her flipper. Flora realized the situation almost immediately. "Ok, we can do something else," Flora said with a small smile.

"Oh, thank you!" Sara sighed in relief. "I don't understand this game."

"I'll help you out later," Amber said with a sly smile. "If you can keep up," she added quietly so no one could hear.

"Thanks Amber," Sara said cheerfully. "Can we go to the park?" she asked.

Amber thought for a moment. _It'd be nice to get away from the boys. _"I'm up for that. What about you two?"

Madison nodded excitedly.

"It'd be nice," Flora admitted.

"Agreed, let's go!" Amber exclaimed dramatically.

The male avians looked back at Amber suspiciously.

"Where do you think your going?" Skipper asked suspiciously.

"Nowhere that concerns you," Amber shot back bitterly.

The girls were still mad at them for making them sleep outside. Then again, it gave them the perk of discussing their plans.

"I think that after last night we have the right to know where you went." Skipper narrowed his eyes in a challenge to spill her secrets.

Amber sighed. She picked up at an idea but she didn't show it. "You want to know where we went?" Amber asked. The girl's eyes widened at the idea of her giving up so easily. "We were at the Zoovenier shop." They all relaxed and Flora joined in on the game.

"We went there because we never saw the inside," Flora added.

"It was amazing!" Sara said with a squeal. "There were all these plushies and…wait, Madison!" Madison raised a brow but was amused none the less. "You hurt me with that foam finger!" Sara said angrily and demanded, "Apologize!"

Madison thought for a second and before she remembered that. She busted out laughing, falling back off her cinderblock chair and onto the floor, when she saw the look Sara was giving her. Sara glared intensely at her as Madison continued to throw a laughing fit on the ground. Flora was snickering and Amber had a raised amused brow.

Rico was snickering, but Private seemed displeased at the thought of Sara getting hurt. Kowalski was chuckling slightly when he saw Madison smacking her flipper on the floor, trying to breathe when Sara uselessly tried to get her to apologize or to stop her laughter. Skipper was still suspicious but found the scene amusing.

"Well, we're leaving," Amber announced suddenly when they all pulled themselves together. The girls jumped out of the habitat before anyone could say or ask anything.

"Boys, were going on a spy mission." Skipper was going to find out what was going on between those girls.

* * *

><p>"It's nice out here. I missed our freedom," Sara said with a sigh of content. "The Zoo is still confined, even if we can walk around in it when the people leave."<p>

Madison grunted in agreement as she layed up against a tree, upside down.

"It's good to be away from those guys," Amber muttered honestly.

"C'mon, they're not that bad," Flora argued.

Amber shot a look that made Flora clamp her beak shut. "I just don't want to deal with them anymore," she grumbled and turned her back on her little troop.

The three penguins shared glances before they looked back at Amber.

"Amber, it's not that bad. The guys are kinder then the ones back home." Sara tried to make her feel better, but it didn't seem to help much.

"They don't even trust us!" Amber shouted back.

Madison lowered her eyes sadly. It was true. After what happened yesterday, there wasn't much trust.

"Now that's not true," Flora continued to argue.

"Really? Open your eyes! After yesterday, who would trust us? No body ever trusts us! We're outsiders and always will be! We all know we can only trust ourselves! It's time to wake up!" Amber shouted bitterly. "It wasn't like they trusted us before." Amber let her shameful, yet angry gaze stay on the ground.

"Sometimes you have to take that chance. You did with us, remember?" Flora said comfortingly.

Amber's eyes turned thoughtful. She did take that risk with them didn't she? She looked up to see the caring gazes of her closest friends. She smiled again and sighed in defeat. "I guess I did, huh?" she said with a slowly growing smile.

"Yup," Sara and Flora agreed happily. Madison nodded with a mischievous smile on her face.

"So what should we do now?" Sara asked curiously.

"We could look for plant life?" Flora suggested eagerly. They all gave her bored and 'are you serious?' expressions. "What? It could be fun!"

Madison snorted and got up from her awkward position against the tree.

"We could do something better. Like…um..." Amber started to think of something to do. It was hard; since they didn't normally do anything fun anymore, even more so because they didn't know much about New York. That was it. They could explore! "We can look around The Big Apple!" Amber shouted. Madison clapped her flippers together.

"That would be lovely!" Sara smiled.

"I have wanted to see what was around here," Flora admitted.

"To the city!" Amber shouted dramatically. Madison was WAY ahead of her on that one. She was sliding on her belly to the nearest sushi shop.

"Bad Madison, bad Madison!" Flora shouted as they all slid after the crazed penguin.

In the trees, the guys watched the girls slide away. They had been spying on the girls and had heard every word and seen just about every detail.

"They have never been trusted?" Private said in disbelief. "That's so sad."

"Wouldn't that mean that they must have done something to cause that?" Skipper pondered suspiciously.

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding!" Kowalski tried to convince Skipper.

"I believe we should question our lady friends," Skipper said, ignoring Kowalski. He jumped out of the tree and started for the zoo.

"But Skippah, the girls are in the city," Private reminded him when he caught up with Skipper with Rico and Kowalski not far behind.

"We will be waiting for them," Skipper told him.

* * *

><p>"Did you really have to do that?" Sara asked Amber. "Why would you even do that?"<p>

"He was asking for it." Amber smirked confidently. Madison smiled is a psychotic happy way and nodded her head in agreement.

"Well you didn't have to knock out the man when he was driving!" Sara protested.

"Your point?" Amber said obliviously.

"He could have been killed!" Sara exclaimed.

Flora popped into the conversation. "The paramedics did come."

"Still! And over a pretzel?" Sara said angrily and in disbelief.

"It was a good pretzel." Amber licked her beak. Madison nodded in agreement with her tongue hanging out of her beak.

Flora grinned and made a wide gesture. "It had the perfect mixture of salt and cheese."

Sara huffed angrily and tried to squeeze past the Zoo gate bars. The three older penguins easily managed to get through. They looked back and saw the pitiful but amusing sight of Sara stuck in the bars. She struggled to get out but her belly was just a little to big to get past.

"A little help?" Sara wheezed. Madison busted out laughing at the sight. "Madison!" Sara yelled. Madison composed herself, grabbed onto Sara and pulled. "Ow! That hurts!" Sara complained. It was hurting Madison too. The strain on her muscles was making her wound hurt.

"Try sucking in your stomach," Flora advised from a distance.

Sara did so and was yanked through the bars. The two flightless birds landed a couple feet away and rolled along the ground. Madison winced at the pain but found herself laughing despite it.

"Alright you two, let's get back to our habitat." Amber walked past them with Flora at her side. Madison got up and offered a flipper to Sara.

"Thanks," Sara mumbled and took the welcoming flipper. The two avians caught up to the others at the railing of the habitat. "I still don't see why we couldn't get a pretzel from the stand."

"Well the guy insulted us! Of course we knock him out and steal his pretzel!" Amber shouted. Thankfully, she wasn't loud enough for their neighboring animals to hear her. "That's our way! It's how we roll." With that said, they all jumped down into the HQ. They were greeted with Skipper and his team waiting for them. "Oh boy," Amber muttered angrily under her breath.

"We want some answers," Skipper stated simply. Madison groaned.

"What do you want answers too?" Amber rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Where were you all last night?" Skipper asked.

"Told you that already. We had gone to the Zoovenier shop," Amber hissed.

"Then why were you so secretive about it?" he asked suspiciously.

Amber thought quickly and came up with a good lie, even though it was partly true. "We didn't want you guys getting on our case, like you are now," she growled.

The girls silently praised Amber for the good response.

"Why don't I believe you?" Skipper narrowed his eyes.

The girls felt their blood boil again. No one ever believed them. Sure, they were lying but still it seemed impossible.

Amber had to suppress her anger but it was shown in her voice. "Why don't you tell me!" she barked. Sara and Flora blinked in surprise. Madison, however, appeared just as angry as Amber was. They were both known for their bad tempers. They were never laid back like Flora and Sara were. Skipper didn't answer. Amber took a shaky sigh to calm herself. "Can we just pretend this never happened?" she asked, exasperated.

Skipper felt every ones eyes on him. Kowalski, Private and Rico looked at him curiously and expectantly. _What do I do? What do I WANT to do?_ Skipper asked himself. He felt like he wanted to just pretend it never happened and be friends again or as close as he could get to being a friend with her.

"Please Skippah? I don't want to feel awkward around them anymore," Private whispered to him.

Skipper pretended to be aggravated and sighed in fake annoyance and defeat. "Fine," he agreed. "We forgive you." He was elbowed harshly in the side and growled, "I forgive you."

All the penguins grinned broadly and the last thing Skipper expected was for every one to just run off like nothing ever had happened. Flora and Kowalski went into the lab; Private, Sara and Madison went to watch TV. Rico had gone to make sushi for the penguins at the TV. It all happened so fast. That left Skipper and Amber in the middle of the room, lost.

"Can I talk to you?" Skipper asked Amber.

She shrugged and replied, "Sure. Why not?"

"Let's talk in private. Follow me," he ordered in a whisper. She followed him cautiously as they jumped out of the HQ and onto the concrete floe. "Alright. so I have yet to know, how did you and your little friends get here? You've been here for around a month, and we still don't know." Skipper wanted answers. He was tired of them being so secretive. "It doesn't take a genius to know you're not from another zoo."

Amber thought for a moment. _Telling him wouldn't do any harm, right? Besides, I don't talk to him very much_. She shook her head slightly. _Don't get attached, just don't get attached. _"Well, where should I start?" she asked herself.

"Well, we were at our little penguin village in Antarctica and, like usual, Flora, Sara, Madison and I had to find fish. Surprisingly, even though we're penguins and we know how to catch fish, the other penguins in the village couldn't...for specific reasons. Only we could and it made it difficult to find food that way. It may have been a little colony but there are at least a hundred penguins there. That's a lot of fish we had to catch a day and that was just for the morning. We still had time to do training. Anyway I'm getting off track here." Amber shook her head to get her focus back.

"So let's see... One day we went to get some fish but there was a giant storm in our way. My step brothers and sisters wanted to have some fish, just like the other penguins."

Skipper then decided to interrupt. "Did you say step brothers and sisters?"

Amber sighed. She hated that subject. "Yeah, my family died from some complicated reasons, and so I kind of got adopted." She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"You can only do so much. I bet they were great penguins," Skipper said comfortingly. Amber half-smiled in bitter irony. He was wrong. They weren't great penguins. She may have loved her family but they weren't great at all. They were either slobs, assassins, out for court martial, or were on the lamb, except for one of them but she didn't dare dwell on it.

"You're wrong, they weren't good penguins." She put her thoughts into words. Skipper looked surprised but asked her to continue her story. "As I was saying, I was going to go out for the fish myself because I didn't want my team to get in any danger from this sudden storm. But, of course, they forced me to bring them along." She chuckled at that.

"We spent probably a good two days trying to get to our normal fishing grounds. After a while we realized we were lost, and we had to find shelter. We spent a while trekking through the artic land. After a while, wind started to become a problem. It would cut through our feathers and chilled us to the bone. At one point, we ran into a dumb leopard seal. Of course we brought a good fight but it just left us weak. We might've eaten the leopard seal, but we weren't desperate. At least, I wasn't.

So after a day or two, we were stranded on a horrible part of Antarctica. The ice could scrub you raw if you just simply touch it with your flipper. It had scratched our feet raw but that was the least of our concerns. We were hungry, tired and we needed to rest. The problem was that since we were at that part of Antarctica it could kill us if we stopped." Amber sighed and rubbed her temple. "Flora almost fell on the ice on our last day in that artic wasteland. But on the same day we had found a little mountain and I thought it would be a good idea to go up there. We spent a day going up that thing, a day Skipper!" Amber shouted in his face.

Skipper only stared at her with interest.

"Anyway, we had eventually got up there, and we were thankful that we could rest, but the humans found us soon after. Sara took a dart for me, but it didn't take long for the rest of us to get shot. I thought we were dead meat when I woke up in a cage. Except the only thing that happened was that a doctor just gave us some fish and some kind of shot."

Skipper's eyes went wide. "That monster!" he shouted. "Pricking animals with those demon needles!" He shuddered.

"It wasn't that bad," Amber chuckled which made Skipper roll his eyes. Amber remembered from his file that he was afraid of needles. She then went back to her story. "So, when we woke up, I busted the crate open with a kick and now, here we are. That's pretty much what happened and how we got here," Amber concluded.

"Sounds like you went through a lot." Skipper eyed her with his respect returning toward her and maybe a little bit more.

"You have no idea." Amber glanced at Skipper and scowled. "So, do you really forgive us or whatever?" she asked.

Skipper put on his trademark smirk. "Yeah, I guess."

Amber shoved him playfully with a smirk of her own. "I'm serious!"

Skipper laughed lightly and finally said, "I really do forgive you."

Amber eyed him a moment longer and took his word for it. "Good. Now c'mon, I want some of Rico's sushi. He is brilliant with a blade, you know?" Amber flipped the fishbowl over and jumped inside, Skipper not far behind her.

* * *

><p>Madison was sitting watching TV, enjoying some sushi Rico had given her. It was a good show and that was because she had picked it out. She was sick of that Lunacorn show. She tore her gaze away from the screen when she felt a nudge on her back. She turned around and saw Rico shifting his feet around awkwardly. She raised a brow when he continued to stare.<p>

"Here," he finally grunted and held out her red hat that was hiding behind his back.

She looked at him surprise. She had forgotten all about her hat. She reached for it cautiously and took it. She brushed the dust off the cap and placed it backwards on her head with a large grin forming on her beak. She grunted in her 'thank you' kind of way.

"Welcome," Rico smirked slyly, sat next to her and joined in watching the show.

At the corner of her eye, Madison saw Amber glaring at her. She ignored it and turned her attention back to the show as a car exploded. She clapped her flippers as a chain reaction sent more cars exploding. _At least the guys forgive us. Too bad we're going to leave soon._

* * *

><p><strong>Forgiveness can be a blessing. Well the chapter didn't go the way I wanted it too, but I guess you got to move on, right?<strong>

**Sara: Yup.**

**Me: You are all back already?**

**Amber: Yes and better then ever.**

**Me: I may have created you but you guys seriously annoy me.**

**Flora: That hurts. *Puts on sad face***

**Me: Fine, I'm sorry, whatever, just review, ok? Someone send me a virtual mace!**


	18. Checking In

**Sorry for the wait, I'm going to be busy for a while the most time. ****Want to say thanks to hardrocker21, for once more, reviewing about every chapter I've thrown at ya. Onto my story! This is a week later from my last chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Flora's POV<strong>

For the first time, in a long time, my head felt clear and normal. I grinned.

Kowalski had told me that I had fully recovered from my concussion. Madison seemed extremely pleased with this, though she is still mad that she had to wear the bandages and continue getting little checkups from Kowalski. Her wound is healing better then expected, mostly because of all the strain she's put on it. That's Madison for you, ruins every law of science and nature. One of the things that I found odd, annoying and yet interesting at the same time.

Currently, we were all entertaining the Zoo visitors with things they found irresistibly adorable. Amber and I swam in the water while Sara was sliding around her stomach and, if I knew Madison, she was probably just smiling and waving. Even she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept putting strain on her wound.

I twirled around the water before jumping out into the air and landing a pose on the floe. Amber did the same and, from the cheers from the zoo people, I think we looked stunning; then again, that's just my educated guess. We _all_ know that I am correct.

The guys were doing something back in the HQ, which I didn't have the foggiest idea on what they could be doing. Maybe Kowalski would tell me later. Although, he might just say it's classified. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately but weren't we back on the whole 'trust train' again? Either way, we had to cover up for them and that meant a lot of extra work.

I waddled around in an adorable fashion but froze when I heard a screech. When I looked across the habitat, I saw Sara being put in a cage by Alice. Madison was trying to bite Alice's hand off in result but that didn't help much since she too Madison was abducted promptly afterwards. She probably would have struggled if there wasn't a scared Sara in there. I looked around for Amber but I couldn't find her. It didn't matter because Alice was coming toward me.

I froze in horror as she took me and placed me in the cage. I felt faint in that cramped thing. _Is it just me, or is it getting smaller? _I started to hyperventilate when Amber came into the cage also. She appeared to notice my condition and almost looked concerned.

"Flora, calm down." Amber tried to soothe. It wasn't helping much. I felt like my world going black and I became dizzy due to lack of oxygen. I saw Madison catch me before everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>Amber's POV<strong>

That deranged Alice was taking us to what I think was a Vet Clinic. I couldn't ask Flora to confirm, since she had passed out about a minute ago.

Alice opened the door and we were surrounded by clean floors, tools and counters. A weird doctor came up to us and, like usual, I just glared at the thing. Never trust humans! That's rule number one in my flock.

I turned my head over toward Sara and Madison. Sara was doing what she had once told me was meditation, she looked calm but Madison was a different story. Madison was angrily and savagely gnawing at the bars, trying to rip them apart. She was doing a pretty good job at it, too. The bars were bending and, if she kept at it, we might be out in a minute or two.

"Maybe we should check this one out," the doctor implied at my dear friend, Madison.

I frowned grimly as I rattled the bars like I was in prison...again. Prison wasn't so bad. The bad part was when you didn't do what they wanted, then you could end up in the electric chair, also the fact that if you start a fight that you get tazed. I learned that the hard way.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure we're just getting a medical check in with Doctor Deranged," I told my team calmly but they didn't seem to have heard me.

Madison shook the bars faster and harder as the vet approached the cage that had been sat down on a counter but it was all in vain when the doctor gave her a shot that made her stop completely. She suddenly got a weird goofy smile on her face and dilated eyes before falling backwards in the cage. Tranquilizers. Why do people always use that on us?

"Madison!" Sara gasped, breaking away from her meditation.

"She will be fine. I think this is some medical routine." I comforted her by patting her back.

"They aren't going to do anything bad, are they?" Sara asked worriedly.

I didn't answer. I didn't know how they operated around here.

Doctor deranged was going through the cabinets to find whatever he was going to prod us with. If he hurt anyone, I was going to make sure that he came out with only two fingers.

I glanced at the KO forms that were Flora and Madison. It was hard to understand how Flora felt when she was claustrophobic. It's not like I would feel the same way in a small space. I'm good with tight places and situations. Sara, Flora and Madison, however, would crack under the pressure. It's not their style, which is why I'm the leader around here.

When I looked at Sara, she was shivering violently. Poor girl was scared to death. I gently reassured her by, once more, patting her back. She looked at me and I saw an immediate energy of fear.

"I don't like the vet or doctor. Or anything related for that matter," Sara whimpered.

I snorted, "You're not the only one."

The doctor finally came over and took the Sara from my grasp. She squeaked in fear and struggled in his grip to get away, but he held tight.

"You hurt a feather on her, and I'm going to bring you into a world of pain!" I shouted. Heck, I meant every word. No body messes with my girls! They were family and I wasn't about to let anyone harm them, emotionally or physically.

The doctor glanced at me when he sat Sara down on the counter. It was like he knew what I was saying, or thinking, and I _hated_ it. "Don't worry. Your little friend will be fine," the doctor said reassuringly. I glared as the man set up his little tools of torture.

"Amber…" Sara whimpered.

"You'll be fine," I snapped.

That wasn't something I should have done, but humans always got me irritated and edgy. They just couldn't be trusted! They always take you away from the ones you care about, give you drugs to see if it would work for medication and even try to shoot you, so you would become the next display on their wall. Trusting them was not an option.

The doctor started poking Sara everywhere, probably trying to find any injuries. Sara giggled at the touches.

"Don't give into the doctors tricks," I growled. Sara instantly tried to stop her giggle fit and kept a straight face.

"Nothing broken," the doctor murmured as he scribbled something down on a nearby clipboard. "Let's see…you had your shots and already had a blood test and x-ray…" the doctor muttered to himself.

Sara cocked her head in confusion. "We had a blood test and an x-ray?" she asked, confused.

"That Dr. Ronald must have done it when we were knocked out," I guessed, looking back into my memories. Behind me came some shifting noises, making me turn around to see. Flora and Madison were getting up and both seemed pretty groggy.

"Where are we?" Flora asked dizzily.

"Vet," Sara and I said simply. Unfortunately, that one word made Madison spring up and smash against the cage.

"Madison!" I shouted harshly. "Stop doing that! Running head first against the cage won't help."

She growled and tried to pry the bars apart once again. Flora was starting to curl up in a ball due to the lack of space. It may have been a cage, but it was still enough to freak her out.

"It's alright Flora," I attempted to sooth. "We're going to be fine. This is a large cage."

The doctor looked up when he heard a crash. It had come from another room. "Stay here and don't cause any trouble," the doctor instructed before he went off to the noise. He left the room, and closed the door behind him.

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "No promises."

My attention was turned to a noise that sounded like tapping on glass. My gaze wandered to a nearby window and who did I expect but to see none other then, Skipper. He was tapping on the glass to get our attention, mine at least. Sara was trying to open the cage from the outside, which the doctor was dumb enough to leave her out their alone; Flora rocked back and forth in the cage while Madison continued to gnaw at the bars, trying to destroy the cage.

I waved at Skipper with an annoyed look on my face. Kowalski, Private and Rico jumped up next to Skipper and he instructed something silently, and they all began attempting to lift the window open. I grinned when they successfully brought the window up, at least enough for them to squeeze through. Skipper slid over his team behind him.

"Hey," I greeted in an aggravated tone.

Kowalski looked at Flora in concern. "Is she alright?" he asked.

I glanced at her and saw her still rocking away, curled up in a tight ball. "She'll be ok as soon as we get out of this cage," I reassured him.

Sara ran over toward Private and hugged him so tight that she might've squeezed the life out of him. "I don't like the vet!" Sara sobbed. I face palmed, but my eyes grew when I heard a loud noise.

Madison had apparently ripped the cage in half, and she seemed pretty steamed at the events that took place in the last ten minutes. I snorted as she stomped her way to the guys and Sara.

I went over to the shivering Flora and decided that it'd be better to help her out before she had another panic attack. I picked her up and brought her out into the open with Sara, Madison and the guys.

She jumped out of my flippers and shook herself when she noticed them. "Thanks," Flora sighed.

"No problem," I grunted in reply. I turned to the guys and ripped Sara off of Private. He gasped for breath, and I just then realized how hard she had been squeezing him. "You guys might get in trouble if Doctor Deranged finds you," I growled.

"And you all might get in trouble for ripping apart that cage," Skipper shot back.

"Very true," Flora chuckled dryly. Madison didn't look one bit guilty and was just laying down on the cold counter top.

We all looked up as we heard a clicking sound from the door. The doctor was coming back! I started thinking fast, took the guys and flung them out the window. I snatched the girls by their flippers, jumped toward the broken cage and stood in the middle of the wreck since there wasn't much else I could.

The doctor opened the door and gasped when he saw the broken cage and the surprised penguins at my webbed feet.

"How on Earth did penguins do that!" he shouted.

I smirked as I stated, "Human, we are far more superior then you."

"100% true," Flora said confidently as she was now next to me on my left.

"Absolutely," Sara agreed and stood next to me, on my right. Madison nodded in agreement but continued to lay on the counter top.

"Maybe I should just put them back in their habitat," the poorly confused doctor murmured.

I snickered, "Now that's the best idea I've heard all day."

* * *

><p><strong>Sara's POV<strong>

I was so happy when we got out of that clinic! It was terrible, except when the doctor was poking me. That tickled, and it was ok.

The doctor had to do a few tests on Amber, Flora and Madison, much to their displeasure.

Madison nearly snapped his fingers off. It was kind of funny to see her fluff up her feathers and growl at him like some kind of dangerous animal. Then again, she always had been dangerous. Amber had also almost taken out his fingers too but she wasn't as hostile looking. She messed around with the doc. She would jump around and purposely ruin all his things. I would be lying if I said it wasn't funny. She had made him steamed. Flora was possibly the easiest, besides myself of course. She had cooperated with him, which got Amber pretty mad. She was able to get everything done with ease, except she would nip at him and occasionally squawk, just to please Amber.

He had just sent us out and we were really close to our habitat. The guys, who watched the whole thing, went back when they saw Alice take us away back to our habitat. We were dumped into the water by Alice, who didn't look very happy.

I sighed. _Why does Alice have to be so mean? _I jumped out of the water and onto the floe. I shook the water off my feathers like Madison, Flora and Amber did a moment before me.

"I dislike vets and doctors and anything related," Amber mumbled. Flora, Madison and I nodded in agreement.

"You're not the only one, sister," Skipper agreed. I saw Amber smile at that comment.

"Hey Amber?" I asked suddenly.

"Yes?" she asked with a raised brow, looking at me questioningly.

"Can I talk to you in private?" I asked hesitantly with my flippers tapping together.

Amber's face didn't give away a single emotion, and she simply shrugged. "Sure," she said. She turned to the others and announced, "We will be back later. Somebody save me a fish or two." And with that, she jumped into the water and out of the habitat. Taking that as a signal to leave, I followed her out of the habitat as well.

We came to the zoo entrance gates and jumped into a bush, so we weren't seen.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Amber asked as we both sat down on the ground.

"I wanted to know…" I began hesitantly. "Can we possibly… stay here a little longer then planned?" I waited a response. Amber didn't reply. She just sat there with a blank, expressionless face. I was just waiting for the yell that was bound to come.

"Sara, you know we can't do that!" Amber yelled.

Yup there it is.

"Yes, I know, but-" She didn't even give me time to finish.

"But nothing! We half to get home ASAP! You know that, I know that! Flora and Madison know that!"

I stared at her sadly.

Amber took in a deep sigh to calm herself down. "Look," she began again, much gentler then before. "We got family and other innocent penguins back home that don't know how to take care of themselves out of fear. They got no food, and they're vulnerable to attacks from humans and predators. We need to get home as soon as possible. No delays and no distractions."

"Yes Amber," I murmured.

She put a comforting flipper on my shoulder and looked at me, dead in the eye. "You understand right? It has to be this way. It's our responsibility." I nodded; I understood. "Now let's get back to everyone, ok?"

"Ok," I sighed.

When we stepped out, we saw two depressed penguins. It was simply Flora and Madison. They must have heard what we said.

Amber sighed, and rubbed her temple. "I thought I told you two, to go inside the HQ?" she said, irritated.

"We wanted to know what you were talking about," Flora replied honestly. Madison nodded her head supportively. Those two were both too curious for their own good.

"So how much did you hear?" I asked.

Flora rubbed the back of her head. "We heard every word," she admitted honestly. "I also admit that I wanted to stay here a little bit longer also. Unfortunately, if we miss this boat then the next one that would be available is hard to say. I just know it'll take a while. Maybe six months before they decided to do another trip to Antarctica," Flora told sadly. "Taking a plane is also too risky," she added.

I felt my heart sink. Even if it was just a day more it could ruin our entire mission.

"Well that makes things difficult. We need a good excuse to go out that day for the beginning of our plan," Amber said thoughtfully.

I could practically see the cogs turning in Flora's head. She then shouted something so suddenly that I almost fell backwards, but Amber caught me before I did. "Shopping!" Flora yelled. We all gave her bored, blank stares. "What? It makes sense! The day before Valentines Day? Everybody would go shopping for something for their valentine or whatever," she explained, grinning proudly.

"That's… not a bad idea," I admitted with a faint smile. Flora raised her head in pride and crossed her flippers over her chest in smugness. I looked at them curiously before asking, "So… what exactly is phase one of our plan?"

"Well, we just need to make sure we get the supplies on the ship, because if we got all that stuff on the boat at night, the guys might catch us," Flora started to explain.

"Then we need to make room in the cargo hold and find all the possible exists for our little ride," Amber added.

"Then I look at the map, hack into the computer for the directions, and set for the closest we can get to our penguin village without the humans being able to see them," Flora finished and added, "It's straight forward and simple enough." She also reminded, "We are leaving in a two weeks also."

"Right," Amber barked. "We need to gather up our supplies." Everyone turned toward Madison. "You know what to do."

Madison smiled deviously and held an evil glint in her eyes. She laughed evilly and I swear that I saw lightning behind her as she did. I shivered at the laugh. "Madison," I whimpered. "You're scaring me."

Flora and Amber both eyed me in an amused fashion while Madison had some how wandered off to who-knows-where.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Amber asked, puzzled. Flora and I shrugged, looking around curiously. "Aw well, let's get back to the old HQ."

We all waddled back to our habitat side by side. When I looked at our habitat, I noticed Private was there, waiting for us. I didn't know why he would but it was sweet. I glanced at Flora, and her face betrayed how sad and nervous she was. My eyes wandered back to the single bird on the concrete floe and saw cute little Private smiling and waving at me.

I smiled weakly and waved back ever so slightly. I wasn't so happy anymore. I was going to miss cute, sweet, little Private. I started to think of our plan as we edged closer to the habitat. A depressing thought popped into my head once we dived into the water. _Is this all really going to work out?_

* * *

><p><strong>I didn't really know what to put for the vets check up, so sorry about that. Apparently the girls have a lot of siblings too. <strong>**Man, Amber has been in prison! She can be a bad girl. Wonder what her past was like, don't you?**

**Amber: No one should know!**

**Me: I'm going to tell them eventually.**

**Amber: O_O You wouldn't...**

**Me: Oh but I would.**

**Amber: I got Madison on my side.**

**Madison: *Comes out of thin air and holds up a chainsaw* Heheheheh...**

**Me: o_O I'll take that into consideration. Anyway please review. Would you like a story on Amber's past? **


	19. The Sewer

**Its been another week for the penguins! The first part is a brief summary of what happened.**

* * *

><p>The whole week was hectic.<p>

Madison had been running around for supplies, Sara helping her, and would bring items that Kowalski and Flora needed. Sara assisted Madison, mostly because of the wound she still had slowed her down and because Amber didn't want her to take a sushi shop hostage. The lack of faith was offending but understandable.

The female scientist was helping Kowalski with concoctions and was preparing necessary chemicals for back home when he wasn't around, since she wouldn't get this lab or ingredients again. She felt terrible because she had to hide her chemicals from Kowalski. It felt like stealing and she wasn't very comfortable with that.

Amber had been doing recon lately and was doing almost anything to avoid the guys, mainly Skipper. She was confused with her feelings and the last thing she wanted was more of that.

The girls were currently kicking back on the concrete floe, relaxing and basking in the sun. They just ended their training session and it was extra brutal. Amber wanted them in tip-top shape since they wouldn't be training because they were going on a boat. Flora had estimated the trip would take less then a week. Amber wasn't happy about that but it was better then nothing.

"What can we do today?" Sara asked, more to herself then anybody else.

"Maybe we could...explore the sewer?" Flora suggested.

"Ew…" Sara cringed.

Amber grinned at the idea and jumped up in front of her comrades. "I like it! Team, were going to the sewer," Amber stated with a smirk.

"I was joking," Flora mumbled as she stood up.

Madison jumped up excitedly and started squawking roughly. She ignored the pain on her chest and throat and started doing a little dance.

"Alright calm down," Amber ordered and she helped Sara and Flora up. "Now where's the closest sewer grate?" she asked Flora.

"There," the brown-feathered penguin answered simply as she pointed to one near the lemur habitat.

"Alright, lets make this quick. I don't want to run into those lemurs," Amber growled. Madison slumped slightly. The female commanding officer caught that and looked at her suspiciously. "What is it?"

Madison tapped her beak. How could she explain it without talking? Actions, perhaps? It was wroth a shot. She pointed to the lemur habitat, pointed to herself and grinned.

A few moments of silence.

Amber narrowed her eyes. "Alright, I'm stumped."

"I believe she's trying to say that the lemurs make her happy," Flora suggested. Madison nodded her head quickly. Flora always understood her gestures. Usually.

"What?" Amber gasped disbelievingly. "I thought you hated them! Or at least Julien. What happened?"

Madison put on a thoughtful face and remembered what she had done a week before.

**(Flashback in Madison's POV) **

_"Right," Amber barked. "We need to gather up our supplies." Everyone then turned toward me. "You know what to do."_

_The thought of all the havoc I could create made me smile deviously and let out an evil laugh. Although, I thought I heard them say something but I ignored that too. It probably wasn't important anyway. By that time I was waddling through the zoo._

_Honestly, I didn't know what we would need, so I would just wing it with my improvasation! No...that's not the right word...improve? No...improvation? Imp- whatever the word is, the heck with it! The point is that I haven't stolen anything in a while, so I might be a little rusty. Might as well freshen up my skills right? I winced as I realized that I was in front of the lemur habitat. I was just hoping I wouldn't run into-_

_"Hello silly penguin!" an annoying voice rang out. I growled in annoyance. Too late. I turned to the voice with a deathly scowl. "Silly penguin, everyone is to be knowing that the king can do what he wants!" Julien exclaimed. I looked at him in confusion. _Wait… what? Did I say anything? No, I don't think so!_ "So you can not be stopping the all night dance party!" he said excitedly._

_My eye twitched in excitement at the words dance party. I jumped over toward him, excitement written on my face. He looked at me skeptically, which I found amusing. "Do you wish to be joining the party?" he asked. I nodded my head excitedly and bounced up and down. Julien broke into a large grin and said, "Alright then!" He danced around a bit, before turning back to me. "You may not be so bad for a mean penguin," he added. _

_I ignored that comment and jumped into the lemur habitat._

_"Maurice, we are having a guest, so be hitting it!" Julien jumped beside me as Maurice started playing the music. I danced with them with little Mort on my head._

_I danced all night long, and I woke up on the lemur's bouncy. I knew I was going to party with them some more after that._

**(End of Flashback)**

Madison shrugged.

Amber sighed, "Whatever! Let's just get to the sewer."

Madison clapped her flippers together and nodded. Flora and Sara grinned as they all went over the habitat fence and toward the sewer grate.

"Let's pop this sucker." Amber tried to yank the grate off and the other girls soon joined in. It was soon ripped off, and they all grinned at their success. "Excellent. Dive girls!" They jumped in, one by one, and landed nimbly on the ground in fighting stances. "Keep your guard up. You never know what will lurk in this bottomless sewer pit."

"Actually, Amber, the sewer isn't bottomless. It is actually a very long-" Flora was cut off with a slap to face.

"Seriously? I don't need a lecture on how a sewer works," Amber growled.

Flora chuckled nervously. "Right...right. Totally...knew that."

Amber rolled her eyes and made a gesture with her flipper to move out. They went down the passage and began their trek around the sewer.

"Well," Sara said after a while of silence. "This sucks."

Madison chuckled but she agreed. There wasn't enough action for her taste. She didn't mind walking but the smell was starting to get to her. She smiled as she remembered being with Rico down here. It was fun, also beating up those rats. Madison stopped and glanced around menacingly. Rats. Rico told her, sort of, that there was a Rat King. He said only Skipper could beat the guy. Madison smirked in confidence and caught up with her friends before they noticed she had stopped behind them. If Skipper could beat him, so could Amber.

"I want some action! C'mon, this is like prancing through a meadow of daffodils," Amber groaned in angry disappointment. Madison stuck her tongue out in disgust. Prancing in flowers? Yuck! "Action should always be around the corner! Right Madison?" Amber asked for support. Madison nodded in agreement.

"I don't mind if there isn't action in the corner," Sara admitted coyly.

"Neither would I," Flora put in. Amber rolled her eyes and waddled faster in the sewer. "Besides, if we were prancing through daffodils, it wouldn't smell this bad." Flora gagged at the smell.

"What's so wrong with the smell?" An unfamiliar voice rang out.

The four females whipped around and saw a giant, bulking rat. Madison let out an impressed whistle while Sara and Flora gawked at the sight. Amber, however, played it cool and just stood there, unimpressed, though excitement was flashing in her eyes.

"You'd be?" Amber made a gesture to the giant rat.

"King of the rats," he replied.

_So that's the rat king, _Madison thought._ Figures. It's always the big dudes._

"You're the king of the rats?" Amber gasped in mock disbelief. "I would have thought he'd be bigger and stronger," she taunted with a sly smirk. "Not a weakling." Madison and Flora snickered but Sara hid behind Amber in fear.

The rat king clenched his paws and stared at the mocking penguins angrily. "You flightless birds want a whooping?" he shouted.

Amber offered a dangerous evil smile. "Bring it, rat face," she growled, though it wasn't her best comeback. She lunged at the rat and landed square at his stomach, head first.

He simply watched as she crashed into him, not making him flinch one bit. He smirked and laughed mockingly at her surprised expression by the force his stomach made and fell backwards at the strong impact. He didn't let that get in the way of the fight and grabbed the silver penguin by the neck, cutting off her air supply. The three other penguins lunged at the king and began their own plan of attack.

Madison bit his hand to make him let go of their commanding officer. He yelped in pain and the two penguins jumped back in fighting stances with Amber gasping for breath. Flora smacked her flipper at the back of his legs, which caused his legs buckle. He fell flat on his stomach, groaning. Sara jumped in and started slapping him across the face.

"Sara, a bit aggressive are we?" Amber eyed her, impressed.

Sara stopped what she was doing and turned to her superiors, shuffling her feet in embarrassment. "Well, you know," she muttered awkwardly.

The Rat King's eyes flashed open and he grunted as smacked Sara into the sewer currents. He laughed but stopped when Flora landed in front of him. She glared down at him with eyes that held full blown furry. She raised her flipper and landed a powerful slap across his face. It was very loud and painful as it echoed throughout the whole sewer.

Madison jumped into the sewer water after Sara while Amber held an expressionless face. "Impressive slap," was all she said.

Flora glanced down at the Rat King and saw that he had a large red mark across his cheek. The impact must of KO'd him, because he wasn't moving much. "He had it coming," Flora hissed, crossing her flipper across her chest. Amber raised a brow but didn't say anything more.

Madison came up at the moment with a coughing Sara and tossed her onto the dirty concrete. She came up and started to press on Sara's stomach to get the sewage water out. Sara coughed, turned away, and threw up a bucket load of sewage.

"Gross," Sara grumbled. Flora and Amber showed relieved smiles, ignoring Madison, who was shaking the sewage out of her feathers.

"You still up for some sewer travel?" Amber asked. Sara nodded. No way, would a little sewage stop her from an adventure. No matter how small the adventure. "Good. When you're ready, we will head up north." Amber then frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Flora!" she barked. Flora immediately stood up in attention. "Which way is north?"

"My guess is…" Flora began as she thought through her calculations, basic knowledge and survival skills. "That way," she pointed toward the tunnel the Rat King came from.

"Nice." Amber smirked.

After Sara gave the ok, the penguins began their trek once more.

They trudged through the sewer passageway without a problem except for Sara, who was having a hard time keeping up. Amber was there to help her and stood by her side every moment. Flora took point and would read weird things that were written on the sewer walls. Madison was looking around with her held flippers up in a defensive position, taking a walking lookout job.

"I think that either humans were down here or highly advanced mutations made these markings," Flora told the others.

Amber smirked at those last words and excitement showed in her eyes. "I think the mutations are likely." She grinned at the thought of attacking a mutated abomination of sewage.

Madison looked around more cautiously, half expecting a mutation to pop out and half expecting some diseased human to grab them and bring them into the dark sewage to drown them.

"Or maybe the rats were sharpening their claws on the wall?" Sara suggested and broke into a fit of coughs.

They all thought about this for a moment. "Nah," Flora and Amber denied while Madison shook her head, disregarding the idea. Sara sighed pointlessly and moved on, Amber at her side.

Flora stopped abruptly and yelped when Madison toppled over her since she wasn't watching the brown feathered penguin in front of her. "Get off of me!" Flora wheezed. Madison roughly rolled off of her and left Flora gasping for air. Madison had almost crushed her ribs. The silent penguin offered a flipper to Flora and held a small amused smile on her face. "You find that funny don't you?" Madison nodded in answer. Flora rolled her eyes but took her extending flipper and was yanked up.

"What happened?" Amber asked when she and Sara had caught up.

"Oh yeah." Flora remembered, turned around and looked at a wall in front of her. "It's a dead end," she said with a shrug.

Amber's eye began to twitch. "It can't be a dead end! That pathetic excuse of a rat king came this way!" Amber shouted.

Flora flinched at her harshness and spoke in a calming tone. "It's alright and you're correct. He did come through here, so maybe there's a passageway of sorts?" she suggested, even though she knew that he could have just came down here like they had.

Amber immediately perked up and prepared to give new orders. "Madison!" she barked. Madison immediately straightened up at attention. "Check for any hidden passageways," she ordered. Madison saluted and slid to a nearby wall. "Oh, and Madison?" Amber said before she could get started. Madison turned around and raised a brow. "Don't be afraid to use full blown force."

Madison smiled psychotically with her eye twitching, turned to the wall and did the unpredictable. Not even Flora saw it coming and she was good at predicting stuff. Madison let out a wild yell, something you would hear from Aerosmith and slammed her head against the sewer wall. The wall began crumbling and it fell apart completely, leaving a gaping hole. Madison's eye was twitching and she had a wild look to her, swaying side to side ever so slightly.

Amber, Flora and Sara stared, wide eyed.

_How is that even possible? _Flora thought in shock. _She breaks every law of natural order! How does she do that?_

"Uh…" Amber started. "Good work...Madison," she finished awkwardly. Madison twirled around dizzily and chuckled before falling face first onto the ground.

Flora groaned. "Great! Now I have to drag her! I didn't want to say it in front of her but how much does she weigh!" Flora exclaimed in exasperation.

"Doesn't matter. You get Madison, and I'll help Sara here."

Flora saluted and waddled over toward the KO'd Madison. She grunted with effort as she picked her up and waddled carefully over the discarded concrete around the giant hole in the wall. Amber helped Sara over the concrete and they were all soon on the other side of the wall.

"Well, looks like we're going up," Amber sighed in disappointment.

"Hmm?" Flora hummed. She looked up and noticed that concrete must have fallen off the top of the sewers roof too. "Oh…up." She glanced at Amber and raised a brow in curiosity. "I thought you wanted to explore the sewer some more?"

Amber sighed in disappointment. "Yes but these two aren't fit for continuing," she said, implying Sara and Madison.

Flora smiled at Amber's concern. "How about we take them back to our habitat?" she suggested gently.

"Just what I was thinking." Amber grunted as she hauled the two penguins over her shoulders. Sara had passed out and Madison was still down for the count.

Flora jumped up onto the wall and extended a helpful flipper to Amber. Amber took it gratefully and managed to balance the two penguins on her shoulders as she hauled herself up. Flora jumped up swiftly to the giant hole on the roof and dangled there, waiting for Amber. She couldn't help but chuckle when she saw Amber struggling to get up because of the two heavy penguins. It was poor luck. Madison and Sara were the heaviest. Amber has held more weight then that though, just climbing up with them was the hard part.

"What are you laughing at soldier?" Amber barked.

Flora stopped every noise she was making and kept a straight face. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing," she responded shakily.

"That's what I thought," Amber growled. "Now help me up," she ordered. Flora complied and lifted Amber up to the ledge of the hole. "Thanks," she muttered. Flora smiled slightly and flipped to the top where Amber was standing. "And…" Amber paused. There were a few moments of silence, making Flora look to the side awkwardly.

"Um Amb-" Flora was abruptly cut of.

"We're off!" Amber yelled enthusiastically and she started to run toward the direction of the zoo. Flora shook her head with an amused smile and followed her commanding officer, who had two penguins on her shoulders.

* * *

><p>It took a while but the female penguins finally got back to the zoo. And it was midnight. Not good.<p>

"Think we'll get in trouble for being out for so long?" Flora asked Amber nervously. Before she could answer, someone beat her to it.

"I think so."

Flora winced and Amber rolled her eyes, annoyed. Both turned around and saw Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico with concern and a hint of anger in their eyes.

Private's eyes went wide with horror when he saw the motionless Sara on Amber's shoulder. "What happened?" he gasped. "Is she dead?"

Amber shook her head and grunted as she put the two penguins on the ground. Her shoulders felt numb from the weight of those two on there for several hours. She moved her shoulders around to get some feeling back into them. "We went into a sewer," Amber explained as if it was no big deal. She stretched around to get her muscles to loosen up some more.

"And we met a Rat King," Flora added. "Who, Amber picked a fight with."

"And we won."

"But Sara got knocked into the sewage river."

"Of doom!" Amber boomed.

"Madison saved her though."

"And Flora slapped that king so hard that his whole family would say 'ouch'."

"It wasn't that hard," Flora argued modestly.

"Are you kidding me!" Amber shouted, forgetting the guys were there. "The whole sewer echoed when you smacked him! The guy had a red flipper mark across his face and he passed out from it! How can it not be that hard?"

"Well…um…" Flora thought for a few silent moments.

"Exactly, case closed." Amber smirked. Skipper coughed to get their attention. The two penguins turned back to their audience. Amber cleared her throat awkwardly. "So on our way back, Sara had passed out from exhaustion."

"Madison?" Rico squawked while tilting his head to the side a little. His face written with concern for the silent penguin.

"She…" Flora hesitated. "She...sort of broke a wall with her head."

"What?" Kowalski shook his head disbelievingly. "How is that even possible? It ruins all things scientifically possible!"

Flora shrugged sheepishly. She didn't have a clue. Amber and Madison, always breaking the walls of reality.

"It's sort of my fault," Amber admitted guiltily, rubbing the back of her head. "I told her she could use full blown force. And well…" the silver bird chuckled, "she did."

"By smacking her head into a wall?" Skipper raised a brow.

"Yup." Amber shrugged her shoulders. _What are you going to do?_

"Ouch." Rico winced.

The penguins looked at the ground as they heard a moan. Sara was stirring on the ground and was pushing Madison away from her, who was still passed out on the ground.

"Sara?" Amber whispered, trying not to frighten the penguin. It didn't work.

The chubby female penguin shot up and got in a fighting stance out of instinct. Unfortunately, Sara abruptly doubled over and started coughing violently.

"Sara!" Private exclaimed worriedly. He got over to the coughing penguin and, to everyone's surprise, picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "We need to get her back home!" he ordered.

They didn't hesitate and all ran to the HQ. Madison was being carried by Rico with his outstretched flippers while Private had Sara slung over his shoulders. The penguins jumped over the habitat fence with no problem, all except Private and Rico, who stumbled because of the penguins they held.

Skipper pushed the fishbowl aside and ushered everyone into hastily.

Amber stopped next to him. "Do you think Sara will be alright?" she asked concerned. "I don't usually worry, but Sara seems tired and sick and I don't know what the heck was in that sewer water, and-" she was cut short on her rambling, by Skipper clamping her beak shut. She stared wide eyed at the flipper that held her beak and was shocked at the unexpected action. She looked up at Skipper in the eyes, who was doing the same with her. His eyes that held affection and worry of his own. Amber failed to see the affection in them.

"She'll be fine," Skipper told her sternly but calmly. "We can take care of her and she will be as good as new. Ok?"

Amber nodded her head slightly, still stunned. The two stayed like that for a couple of minutes. They were interrupted by an unexpected voice. The two penguins jumped five feet in the air and Amber landed in Skipper's flippers. She clung to his neck, both breathing heavily.

"You two should get down here," Flora said as she popped her head up from the fishbowl entrance's hole. She raised am amused eyebrow when she saw them. "Am I...interrupting something?" she asked slyly.

Amber jumped away from Skipper, who was extremely red. Amber brushed herself off, embarrassed, but she held a solid expression. She glared at Flora with eyes that burned into her very essence. "No and don't get any ideas," she hissed.

Flora shrank back down a bit but, before she disappeared completely, she whispered, "You two should come back down."

Amber turned back to the red Skipper and blushed a little bit herself. She cleared her throat and spoke in a shaky voice. "We should…um… probably… get down… there," she said awkwardly.

Skipper nodded in agreement and both jumped inside the HQ. When they got down, the two leader penguins waddled over to the others as if nothing happened.

"Kowalski, status," Skipper ordered.

Kowalski darted his gaze up at Skipper for a second before he looked back at the two penguins, who were on a table. Sara had once more passed out when they reached the HQ but Skipper and Amber wouldn't have known that, since they were so 'busy'. "Sara has a lot of sewage in her lungs, and I think she might have sprung her ankle," Kowalski reported.

"What?" Amber said disbelieving. "She didn't say anything about it before."

"She probably didn't want you to worry," Kowalski guessed.

Amber shook her head. "That's no excuse."

"Anyway…" Kowalski started. "Madison is in a stressed physical state. I'm surprised she didn't get a concussion from hitting a wall like that, but I don't think her mind will suffer from that action of hers. She has a high chance of re-opening her wound…" he trailed off. He took the bandages off of her waist, and sure enough, the wound looked stressed and ready to open at any second.

"Oh boy," Rico muttered sadly.

"So she's not fit for traveling," Flora muttered to herself. Amber shot her a glare. They didn't need any hints on their plans. This went unnoticed by the male penguins, most likely because they were so focused on the two penguins on the table.

"There's no way she could," Kowalski told them, having heard Flora.

Amber felt a sudden surge of anger and concern. She clenched her eyes shut and couldn't stop the bitterness in her voice, "I'm going out for a while." Before anyone could stop her, she jumped out of the HQ.

Flora rubbed the back of her head, frustrated. "I'll go talk to her," she sighed.

"I'll come too," Skipper said. Everyone looked at him with questioning stares. "What?"

"Let's just go," Flora muttered. Skipper led the way out of the HQ, with Flora at his tail feathers.

"So…" Kowalski said as an awkward silence started. "Want to get snow cones?" He only earned glares from Private and Rico. "Alright I'll go myself," he muttered and slowly went up the ladder, out of the HQ.

Private immediately felt guilty. "Maybe we should have gone with Kowalski or at least spared his feelings."

Rico shook his head furiously. "No go. Stay here," he growled. He didn't want to leave Madison alone. He watched as her scarred stomach slowly went up and down. He paid close attention to her physical appearance. The wound was rather disturbing to anyone, but Rico didn't care, it didn't sicken him in the slightest. They all had their scars they had to bear. He subconsciously rubbed the scar that ran across his face. She had one too, on her flipper.

He looked closely at her face with curiosity and wonder. Unlike most times, where her face showed excitement, anger or annoyance, it was…relaxed. Something you didn't see on the female penguins very often, especially as of late where they've been antsy and out of focus.

Private was transfixed by Sara, just as Rico was by Madison. He loved watching her, though he never really did it much because whenever he stared at her, she would look at him, so he would look away. Heck, he wasn't a creeper if that was what anyone was thinking. In fact, it was a fleeting glance when he did look at her, not some forever stare. Private wasn't a stalker either and would never stare at her when she was sleeping. That'd be a bit awkward.

He watched her chest go up and down roughly because of the water in her lungs. He then looked closely at the strange gray feathers on her belly that made her look pretty in his opinion. He also noticed there were some silver feathers where the black ones should be. It was about the same kind of shade of silver on Amber, but it wasn't as bright. He looked at her gentle, serene face. Just like Madison's, it was rather relaxed. He sighed dreamily at her appearance. She was always interesting to him. The way she moved, her appearance and the way she talked to him. It fascinated him.

The two male penguins snapped back to reality when they heard saw Madison moving. She let out a moan and slowly opened her eyes. She attempted to get up but felt dazed. She winced as a sudden pain shot through her entire body and slapped back down painfully against the table. She groaned in pain, which made Sara wake up.

"Where am I?" Sara murmured. She began a small fit of coughs but stopped when Private laid a flipper on her belly.

"You're ok, you just need to rest," Private told her soothingly.

Madison moved her head towards Sara and tried to reach out to her but failed miserably because of the pain at her stomach. She winced and reached for the source of her pain, her giant wound on her belly. She was surprised when she realized a flipper was already there. She craned her neck to look up and saw Rico, who had a slightest tint of red on his face that was barely noticeable. She risked a small smile and flopped her flippers to the side of her, letting her head smack back onto the table. She allowed Rico to stroke her belly to make the pain decline gradually.

Madison let out another painful moan, but shivered when she felt something cold on her forehead. She put her flippers to her head and there was a cold object on there. She raised a brow in confusion and looked expectantly at Rico.

"Icepack," Rico answered gruffly. Madison snorted and layed her flipper back down.

"Private?" Sara whispered.

"Yes?" Private diverted his full attention to Sara, if he hadn't already done so.

"Can we speak alone?" she asked.

Private looked up and saw Rico and Madison staring at them with blank expressions. It was a little intimidating. "Um…" Private started awkwardly.

Madison looked at Rico, grunted and weakly pointed to the ladder.

"You sure?" Rico asked, concerned.

Madison gave him a stiff nod and winced as she tried to get up. Rico attempted to assist her, but Madison brushed him off. She tried to waddle forward but started to fall. Rico caught her just in time and, to her anger and frustration, picked her up in his flippers and carried her to the ladder. She squirmed in his flippers, which made him chuckle. Rico glanced over at Private, who was staring at Sara. She had closed her eyes again and almost looked like she was sleeping.

Private looked up at Rico and mouthed 'thank you'. Rico chuckled once more, gave Private a wink and moved his eyes to Sara, then Private, trying to get his message across. Madison chuckled. She got it alright and, by the blush on Privates face, so did he. Rico awkwardly tried to climb the ladder, much to the amusement of Madison.

Once the two silent penguins left, Private nudged Sara. "We're alone," he whispered.

Sara sighed and picked herself up. She turned to Private and felt a small blush spread across her face. "Good, because I didn't want them to see this." She pressed her beak against Private's cheek for several moments before pulling away and lightly limping away toward the TV slowly. Private stood there dumbstruck, or in this case, love struck. It may have been a kiss on the cheek, but it was still amazing to him.

Once he had recovered, he waddled over to Sara and sat next to her, while watching the Lunacorns. "Why?" he asked silently. He liked it, but he wanted to know why.

"Because…" Sara hesitated. "You're so nice to me, and taking me back here like that was really nice of you," she answered. "Also, because I thought I owed you that," she added quickly.

Private slowly smiled warmly at her. He would do that for her any day if that meant that kind of reward.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait. Either way, thanks for bearing with me.<strong>

**Skipper: It's a surprise they do.**

**Amber: Agreed.**

**Me: I created you and I can un-create you!**

**Sara: Meep. *Rocks in fetal position in a corner***

**Me: Alright, while Private takes care of an emotionally scarred Sara, review please!**

***Madison and Rico pop up***

**Rico: Review!**

**Madison: *Pulls out a chainsaw slowly* Muhahahaha!**


	20. Madison's Confusion

**Yay a new chapter! The title of the chapter doesn't really apply till later on in the chappy. Also, it's three days away from my last chapter. Only four days left until the girls leave. The clock…is…ticking!**

**Kowalski: Was the dramatic pauses really necessary?**

***Dramatic Pause***

**Me: Yes.**

* * *

><p><strong>Madison's POV<strong>

My life sucks right now. It really, truly does. The others have forced me and Sara to stay in the HQ at all times. I tried to fight back, but since I felt so weak and tired it didn't help. That and Amber would beat me into a pulp if I didn't listen. I guess all I could really do was to watch Sara and keep her out of trouble. Like that'd end up well. She's a bit clumsy but not as near as clumsy as Flora normally was. One of the things that make me wonder why she's a scientist.

The others were topside, entertaining those monster people, but I wasn't doing much. I was playing with my hat while I sat in my bunk, utterly bored. Sara was trying to improve her reading skills by reading a book. I didn't see how it would help. The day she could read like Flora is the day I start to like Lunacorns. I shivered at the thought.

I glanced at Sara briefly as she sighed before I refocused my attention back on my red baseball cap that was being twirled in my flippers.

"Aren't you bored?" Sara asked me. I rolled my eyes and nodded. _A bit obvious, no? _"Yeah, me too."

I felt bored beyond belief and that was bad. At least, my friends told me it was. I never really did anything bad when I was bored, I think. In the past, when I was bored, I would juggle butcher knives, which was the safest thing I would do. What was the harm in that?

I jumped out of the bunk and looked around while putting my hat back on. My first thought was that I could run around and blow things up, but my second thought was hooked up to my stomach. It growled hungrily, and I decided food was better the better option at the time. I waddled over toward the fridge and pulled out multiple fish, salmon I think. I don't know how many, I've always been bad with numbers.

"Madison!" Sara gasped. "Are you trying to make yourself explode?"

I grinned and looked up like I was thinking.

"Not funny," Sara huffed.

I laughed and waved her off as I started to eat the fish I had taken out.

"At least let me have some." Sara jumped in and, to my surprise, ate three fish in one gulp.

Seeing this, I took it as a challenge. I smirked and ate four fish in one gulp, licking my beak afterwards.

Sara got a devious smile on her face, which was new, but I had to admit that made Sara more fun to be with. "So it's a challenge is it?" For my answer, I laid out at least, what it looked like, thirty fish on the table. She appeared surprised. "Lot of fish," Sara murmured. I cocked an eyebrow at her, staring her in the eye. "I won't back down!" she proclaimed with determination. I was about to start when she stopped me. "Wait! We need some theme music."

I complied and brought out my recorder. My eyes scanned though the many tracks I had until I found one I liked. I played it and dramatic music started to play for our background. At least she understood that music made everything better.

"Begin!" Sara shouted and launched four fish into her mouth. I grinned deviously and tossed five fish into my mouth.

The numbers kept getting higher and higher, until we were stuffing at least ten fish at once, which caused some chocking hazards. I smirked when Sara finally threw up some fish on the ground. I let out a weak chuckle. I won, she knew it; I knew it. It might not have been worth it but it was awesome and that's what matters. We must have both eaten at least fifty fish. We were literally going to explode.

"Madison…" Sara groaned. "Why did you talk me into this?" I snickered and playfully shoved her, which she returned. "Alright…alright." Sara got serious again. "How are we going to hide the evidence?" I looked around and saw a giant mess that were made up of fish parts, spilled items and some throw up from…well, you know. I grunted as I painfully lifted myself. Eating too much caused cramps, good to know. "Need help?" Sara asked in concern and picked herself off the ground.

I shook my head furiously. I didn't need any help. Help was for the weak. Besides, I liked to do things on my own. I waddled over toward the ladder and climbed up, poking my head up from the fishbowl entrances hole. I immediately saw who I wanted to see.

Rico.

I grinned and grunted to get his attention. For once, to me at least, he looked extremely cute. He was blinking his big icy blue eyes that I always liked at the people. I motioned him to come closer when he turned to me. Once he got close enough, I hit his stomach which made him hack up a washcloth, which is just what I needed. I gave him a nod of thanks and went back down the hatch.

"Where'd you get that?" Sara asked me. I ignored the question and started cleaning. I didn't really mind cleaning fish guts or even throw up. I was fine with it but I'm not a clean freak. Things get dirty anyway, so what's the point in cleaning? Amber told me that we all get dirty, but Flora had argued by saying that staying clean was important. Important how?

"Madison," Sara started, surprised. "I didn't know you cleaned." I growled and gave her a death glare. _I. Don't. Clean. _She flinched and put her eyes back onto her book.

I grunted and went back to cleaning. Though as I cleaned, I thought of the things I missed, like how I couldn't speak. That hurts. Not being able to talk. I might have gotten use to it over the years but from time to time, I missed talking. I never voiced my opinions anymore but it didn't matter because Amber and I think a lot of like. Aggressive and dangerous motives, just the way I liked it. Still… I missed it right now. I couldn't talk to anybody, so they never really knew what I was thinking about. I also liked it better that way.

I was broken out of my thoughts as Sara slapped me. I growled and glared at her while rubbing the stinging pain on my cheek. For a small penguin, she could do a hard slap.

"Madison!" Sara shouted crossly, which was a common saying from her at this point. "I've been calling your name repeatedly. Don't you know what your doing?" she scolded.

I raised a brow and looked at the ground. I grinned, amused, as I realized that I was getting Sara's book all wet with the washcloth. I chuckled and started putting things that had fallen over during our laugh attack back up.

"I really liked that book," Sara whined. I rolled my eyes. It was just a book! It's not like she couldn't get another. "I can't even tell what the words say now," she continued. I turned away from her, so she didn't see me grinding my beak in frustration. I let out a sigh of relief as the others came down the hatch. Another moment alone with Sara and she would have lost her beak.

"Hey, are you two doing alright?" Amber asked. I froze as I realized I hadn't finished cleaning up and a giant mess was still there. "What went down?" I whistled innocently and went to the TV. I felt slightly guilty that I left Sara to explain but hey, not like I could talk or anything. "Sara?" Amber diverted her attention to her instead.

"Yes?" Sara began hesitantly.

"What happened?" Amber asked.

"Well…um…" Sara began hesitantly.

I looked back and saw Sara nervously staring at her feet in fear while the others staring at her curiously. I sighed, my guilt getting the better of me, and I got up and stood next to Sara. I couldn't help but notice that Flora, Private and Rico were staring at my wound worriedly. I still hadn't gotten bandages on it.

"Madison please..." Sara whispered. I glanced at her for a split second and gave her a reassuring smile. Sara sighed, relieved, and that's when I began to wonder if I should regret what I did earlier. Hmmm, nope. No regret. "We had a little competition to see who can eat the most fish, and well, Madison won," Sara began her explanation. I smiled proudly and nodded, nudging her to continue. "And, well, we might have made a mess. Like fish guts everywhere."

I saw some fish guts in front of me and quickly kicked it away.

"And I might have thrown up a bit," Sara muttered.

I tried desperately not to laugh as they all looked around in disgust and smelled the room. Now that I thought about it, the place smelled pretty bad. It wouldn't affect us much though. Any other animal might throw up themselves if they took a whiff of this room. This HQ had a forever present fishy smell, so if they didn't like it then too bad for them.

"What were you two thinking?" Flora groaned.

I gave her the 'what do you think?' look. She should honestly know me better. I never really think about my actions. I usually run on impulse. Much more fun and straight forward that way.

"You two shouldn't be doing that!" Amber scolded sternly.

Skipper seemed just as annoyed as she was. "I can't have messes all over here! The smell is so hard to get out!"

Sara and I looked down in shame. "We didn't mean to make a mess of things..." Sara trailed her foot in a circle on the ground.

Skipper crossed his flippers over his chest, "If this happens again, its fifty laps in the water."

I brought my head back and groaned loudly. _WHY?_ I wailed on the inside.

"I'm going outside for some fresh air," Amber announced and went up the ladder, "feel free to join me."

Flora shook her head. "I'm going in the lab for some experiments. And to avoid the smell."

"I'll come with you." Kowalski smiled nervously as both he and Flora opened the lab door, closing it behind them.

Sara sighed, "I guess I'll clean up this mess then. Since most of it is mine..."

Private put a comforting flipper on her back and said, "I will help you."

No way was I going to stick around to clean, even if it was partially my fault. I stuck out a tongue at her, went up the ladder and used all my strength to haul myself up to the concrete floe since I felt weak and tired. I was happy to know that the zoo had closed already. Perfect. I was free to do what I wanted. Strangely, for once, I felt like relaxing. And I knew the perfect spot.

I jumped over the habitat fence and landed on the other side with a thud. I will admit that it didn't help the increasing pain on my chest. I waddled over toward the clock tower and launched myself up there. I jumped around till I reached the top and that's when I collapsed in front of the bell. I leaned against it, panting. I may have been through worse but this pain was killing me.

Suddenly, I thought I heard something but I realized that someone was coming up, which surprised me. I grunted painfully as I got up and got in my best fighting stance, completely ignoring the severe pain I was experiencing. Whatever came up here, I couldn't see it. I didn't think twice and jumped on top of it when it appeared. Once I was on top of the figure, I growled menacingly at its face. At least, what I assumed was its face.

I then realized that this figure had feathers. I grunted in confusion and, much to the discomfort of the figure, I felt its face. A beak. I just then realized, also, that the figure wasn't much bigger then me. And that's when it hit me. Rico!

I jumped off, surprised, and my back hit the bell in result. I groaned in pain and started to rub my sore back. I heard a shuffling sound and, when I looked up again, Rico was up and was waddling towards me. He stepped into some light and I saw his face. It was a strange look, something I never really seen before. I could identify some of the emotions on his face though: Surprise, slyness and worry. They were all very different emotions. I gave him apologetic look.

He nodded in understanding. "S'ok." He got closer to me, touched my wound on my belly and eyed it worriedly. I raised a brow and looked down also. I admit that what I saw didn't surprise me.

My wound had opened up again but not by much. It was starting to open with trickles of blood coming out. I grunted and laid back against the bell as if it was no big deal. I frowned and narrowed my eyes when I realized we had...what? Four days left before we had to go back home. Rico must have seen the depression on my face, so he patted my head comfortingly. It felt reassuring enough to calm my worries, for the moment.

Like three days ago, when we went to the sewer. When I was brought up with Rico still holding me. It felt safe. I don't remember most of what happened, but I do know that for a fact that Rico continued to hold me and had stroked my stomach to ease my pain, even when a calmed down Amber, Flora, Kowalski and Skipper came back. I must've fallen asleep or something.

When Rico hacked up bandages it brought me back to the world. He picked me up and pushed me a little closer to him. Our bellies were touching and it made me blush slightly, but I think Rico seemed to enjoy it with that sly smile of his that I've gotten use too. He wrapped the bandages carefully and slowly around my waist. It tightened and I grinded my beak together at the pain.

I looked up at the zoo as Rico continued to tighten and wrap more bandages around me. It looked nice. It wasn't as near as pretty as the Northern Lights but it was something. I was also able to see the cities lights. That was kind of pretty also. I have to admit…I'm going to miss this place and everyone in it. I haven't really gotten to know anybody here, but the ones I did know I've gotten attached too. Bada and Bing, the lemurs, Burt, Marlene and even Joey seemed cool. It was terrible having to leave them all. Especially…Rico. Speaking of Rico, I was surprised when I saw him staring at me. I stared back, and I couldn't understand why my flippers were wrapping around him.

It took me a moment to realize I was hugging him. I was surprised when he hugged back too. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who liked mushy stuff. Then again, neither was I and here we were. I nuzzled the back of his neck in an affectionate gesture which impulse led me to do, along with hugging him tighter. Rico nuzzled the back of my neck too and wrapped his flippers tighter on me. I think that if we got any closer we would go right through each other.

I was going to miss him. Out of everybody I met here, I was going to miss him the most. I felt something warm going down my face. I realized that it was tears. _This zoo is changing me! It's making me soft! _I thought bitterly.

I ripped out of Rico's warm embrace and jumped off the clock tower. I was lucky that I landed on my feet. I felt the pain on my chest rising again, but I ignored it and slid away. I didn't understand what was going on. Emotions were conflicting and stirring in my head like a tornado.

I wanted to stay but yet I didn't. I wanted to keep hugging Rico but then I didn't. This zoo was making me hurt. Physically and emotionally. I can't take this kind of drama! I don't understand emotions; I can't comprehend them, and I can't process them right. It's a big blur and I wasn't even sure what to believe in. I just had to think things through.

_Thinking, _I thought as I headed for Burt's pen. That's something I never do. Man this must be serious.

I jumped over Burt's habitat walls and hid behind a couple stacks of hay. I was faintly surprised when I heard someone calling my name. I sighed, as I identified it as Rico's voice. I didn't want to deal with him right now. "Maddie!" he shouted. "Madison!" the voice got louder. "Come back!" I closed my eyes and pleaded that he wouldn't find me. I heard his voice echo away, and I slumped against the hay, relieved. He was gone, for now.

I then noticed that I was still crying, and I furiously wiped away the tears. Once that was done, I curled up against the hay and did my best to drift away into sleep with emotions still tormenting me, even in my dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>Aw poor Madison. Emotional rollercoaster is what I like to call it.<strong>

**Amber: Why's that?**

**Me: Cause it goes up and down and spins all around.**

**Mort: That rhymed! *Giggles***

**Skipper: I thought we checked this place clear!**

**Me: I thought I did to but then all you penguins showed up!**

**Private: That hurts.**

**Me: It hurts my head! Please review before I whack myself with a hammer.**

**Rico: *Walks toward me from behind with a giant hammer***

**Kowalski: Bad Rico! Bad Rico!**

**Me: *Turns around***

**Rico: *Hides hammer* Review!**


	21. Flora's Heartbreak

**Flora's POV**

It's time. I knew it was coming eventually. I just wanted to push it off till later but now I knew it wouldn't work out well. Ever since that kiss Kowalski and I had shared in the lab, we've been doing it over and over again with each time getting better then the last, yet the first was far more special then the others. We would say we were 'experimenting', but we weren't. We both knew Skipper and Amber wouldn't approve of this. Of course they didn't suspect two scientists doing anything but experiments in a lab, so they didn't suspect a thing. At least I don't think they did.

Kowalski and I were about to do some more 'experimenting', but I wasn't looking forward to it for once. This time, I had to break his heart. We were leaving in three days! I can't just suddenly drop off the face of the earth when I have a relationship with him! It's heartbreaking for him and myself. I didn't want to do it but it has to be done.

I slowly and reluctantly opened the lab door. When I entered, I saw Kowalski waiting at the work table for me expectantly. He immediately brightened when he saw me and jumped off the table he was sitting on. He waddled forward as I closed and locked the door behind me.

"Hey Flora!" Kowalski greeted with a large grin. I smiled weakly at him and Kowalski instantly frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked.

I took in a deep shaky breath and exhaled nervously. "Kowalski…" I started hesitantly. "I can't do this anymore."

He stiffened and looked at me nervously. "W-what do y-you m-mean?" he stuttered. It hurt so badly. It felt like a knife had struck me where my heart was. I knew that he understood what I meant; he just didn't want to believe it, neither did I.

"We can't have a…" I swallowed hard and choked the words out sadly, "relationship." It looked like it hurt him pretty bad. His eyes were glazed with sadness, and I knew mine were too. I looked down, afraid of looking at his expression again. I felt on the verge of tears, but I held them in. He tilted my head up so I was looking at him in the eyes. They held sadness and confusion.

"Why?" he choked.

My frown deepened. I had forgotten to think of a reason. _Dang it! Stupid! Why can't you think straight? Because you're stupid! No you're stupid! The whole world is stupid! _I thought as I started arguing with myself.

Kowalski helped me focus by once again choking out, "Why?"

I swallowed hard again. "Because, I j-just don't feel the s-same w-way anymore," I lied. It hurt to say such a painful and cruel lie.

Kowalski stubbornly shook his head. "I know you feel the same way, I can see it in your eyes," he told me determinedly, which surprised me. He read me like a book. "Your beautiful brown eyes," he said softly as he started to lean in. I felt myself doing the same, but I yanked myself away from Kowalski. He stared at me sadly. He looked extremely depressed and confused; I felt the same. "Flora…" he murmured.

I shook my head, finally letting my tears fall. "No Kowalski," I choked on my falling tears. "I can't do this!"

"Why not?" Kowalski cried. He had some tears falling down at this point.

"Because I can't!" I shouted harshly.

Before he could ask me anymore questions, I unlocked the door and ran out. I did my best to ignore the confused and surprised gazes of the other penguins. I did; however, take into account that Madison was back. I didn't let that affect my actions and looked around for a way out. I immediately spotted Privates First Prize entrance.

I didn't pay attention to Amber telling me to halt as I ran to Private's First Prize and used the hidden passageway. I was soon in the sewer, sliding on my belly with tears coming down like a river. I slid around the corner and crashed into something hard and furry. I looked up and saw none other then the Rat King. He still held the red flipper mark on his face, but the color had gone down dramatically. He looked at me, and his eyes went wide with fear or surprise, which neither I could tell for sure. He then put on a smirk because he, from my educated guess, saw the tears streaming down my face.

"What's wrong with you bird?" he growled.

I couldn't stop myself from exploding with emotion. "I'm in an emotional crisis!" I wailed. "I can't take it! I had to break up with the guy of my dreams! The stress and everyone is making me lose it!" I clutched the Rat King's leg, and my tears poured down even harder. I was surprised he didn't kick me away or make some kind of rude remark. I looked up at the rat to seem him with a rather blank expression.

"What?" I choked. "You're not going to kick me, or beat me up?" I clenched his leg tighter, scowling. "I dare you too!" I yelled. What I was thinking? I was dealing with emotions that I thought I had left me too rot a long time ago. Sadness, anger and confusion. What got me ashamed of myself was that I _wanted_ him to hurt me. To have punishment for what I have done or _something_!

"You seem to be in enough pain, so I'll cut you some slack, bird," he snorted indifferently. Something told me it was more then that. Empathy? Perhaps he's been in the same situation I have been never had the consolation he needed.

Either way, I smiled slightly despite these words but that didn't stop the raging tears coming down my face. "Sorry for bothering you," I found myself apologizing.

"Whatever." He shrugged as if he didn't care but made a motion to let go and, by the look in his eyes, he wasn't afraid to shove a girl in pain away.

I got off of his leg and tried to wipe away all my tears. "Thanks for not kicking me," I chuckled dryly.

He offered a weird toothy grin as he said, "No problem but I make no promises that I won't do it next time."

I chuckled at that, for a strange reason, and waddled away. I looked at him over my shoulder; he looked back with certain hostility, but I smiled anyway. I admit that he made me feel better in a weird kind of way, but I was still upset. What I needed was someone to confide too.

My destination was Marlene's. Maybe she could help me feel better, or at least understand what I felt. I found the sewer grate that I assumed was Marlene's. I was confident it was because I had a knack for memorizing things. I pressed the grate up and peeked inside. I heard a scream and that made me jump into the cave with a fighting stance. I realized it was Marlene who screamed, and she was sitting on her bed, clutching her chest that rose and fell extremely fast.

"I'm so sorry!" I gasped. "I didn't mean to scare you! I was just…" I trailed off as I remembered Kowalski. I felt tears pricking my eyes, but I rubbed it away with my flipper.

Marlene looked at me with concern and asked, "Are you ok?"

I shook my head. "No, Marlene, I'm not. I'm in an emotional crisis." I started to sob again and covered my face with my flipper.

"What happened?" she asked worriedly, sat me down on her bed and joined me to my right.

"I don't know if you know, but I was in a little…" I hesitated, "relationship with Kowalski and I broke up with him."

Marlene looked at me in a weird way. Bemused was probably the term. "You're upset about that but you broke up with him. So why did you break up with him if you would be upset?"

I stiffened. I forgot to take into account that she might ask me that. _Stupid! What's wrong with me! _"It's complicated, but it's for the best." I didn't want to lie to her, so I gave her my best answer without giving away to much information. She looked at me skeptically but, thankfully, didn't push me any further.

"I'm sorry about that," Marlene said sympathetically.

"Thanks but I really didn't want to do that to Kowalski or myself," I admitted with light streams of tears coming down again.

Marlene hugged me, and I sniffled as I hugged her back. She pulled away and patted my back comfortingly. "It'll all be fine; besides, Valentines Day is near, so you never know."

That made me burst into tears. We were leaving before that! I don't know what to do anymore. I can't stand this kind of emotional drama. Maybe Amber was right...maybe love wasn't worth the time and only left a line of heartbreak. I forced myself to stop crying, turned to Marlene and gave her the best fake smile I could muster. "Thanks for the talk Marlene. I needed that."

She didn't look like she believed me, but she smiled anyway.

We exchanged our goodbyes, and I left to go back to the penguin habitat. I cleared the fence and landed in the water so it would get rid of my tear marks. I swam underneath the water, trying to relax myself; I didn't believe I could go into the HQ just yet. I knew it was going to be awkward when I came in, it was dead on obvious. I might be asked questions or maybe even receive a couple of glares if they knew what happened. I wasn't ready to face them all.

Apparently I didn't have to because Amber, Sara and Madison popped out of the fishbowl entrance. They were waiting for me to come up from what I could guess, since they were watching me swim. Bubbles escaped my beak when I slowly came up to greet them. "Hi," I sighed as I surfaced the water.

"Hi? Is that it? You run out of the HQ in tears and you come back all relaxed twenty minutes later, and you just say 'hi'?" Amber growled.

I looked at her with a raised brow. _What'd she want with me? __An apology too?_

"Amber, she was in tears," Sara reminded her quietly but I still heard. "You shouldn't be so hard on her," she whispered.

I jumped on the floe and faced my closest friends. "It's fine, Sara."

Amber dismissed this and got straight to the point. "So what happened? Kowalski seemed really upset. When you left, he just closed the door, but you could be a hatchling and still notice how depressed the guy was," she informed.

My eyes grew in size. He didn't tell them? I was thankful that he didn't since it would only complicate matters. "Don't worry about it Amber, I'm sure it'll blow over soon," I reassured with little to no confidence. Amber raised an unconvinced brow but didn't seem to make anything of it.

I looked at Madison and gasped when I saw a bunch of blood on the bandages she had on her. "Madison!" I shrieked. The others looked at her and Sara gasped as well while Amber appeared surprised. Madison simply looked down and groaned in annoyance like she had known this was going to happen. "How can you be so calm about this?"

I guess the guys must have heard my yell because they all jumped out in fighting stances. I couldn't help but look at Kowalski. He looked fine except for his puffy red eyes. Probably from crying, and I knew mine were the same. We locked gazes and I had to look at the ground or else I might have cried right then and there.

"Madison!" Rico squawked in worry. He rushed over to her and inspected the bandages closely. He seemed to punish himself for something I wasn't aware of.

I set my own feelings aside and let my commanding side take over. "Rico!" I barked. God I sounded like Amber. I find that a bad thing.

Rico turned to me, surprised.

"Untie the binding and get me some rolls of bandages," I ordered. Rico didn't hesitate and undid the binding on Madison. She squirmed around uncomfortably and tried to escape his touch. "Madison, it's for your own good, so calm down," I reassured as I waddled over toward the two maniac penguins. She growled and rolled her eyes but stopped moving.

Rico and Madison were doing the entire process awkwardly like they were uncomfortable near each other. Why, I may never know. As soon as the bandages were off, blood started to slowly stream. Sara whimpered and fainted as she saw all the blood.

That's when the panic attack began.

Private yelped, ran toward Sara and tried to wake her up by repeatedly yelling her name. Amber was trying to calm down a freaking out Rico with Skipper helping her in restraining him. Kowalski was trying to get some strips of bandages for Madison but was fumbling with it and he kept cursing under his breath. The only ones that were calm were me and Madison.

We exchanged looks with an annoyed expression. I nodded to her as a signal for her to do whatever she pleased. She offered a small smile and did a large intake of breath, which only made more blood spill out. She let out a large and _long_ scream, making everybody place their flippers or other appendages over their ears or ear holes, trying to block out the sound. I tried to block out the sound as much as possible and man it was ear piercing.

It was loud enough to make Sara wake up from her faint attack. Although I felt bad for her as soon as she clutched her head, attempting to block out the noise. Apparently the other animals from the habitats heard and everybody was now watching us, especially at Madison. She stopped her scream abruptly, and scratched her neck as if nothing happened. My observations told me it was not that. Pain was on her facial features that suggested that her throat was a problem to her now.

"Alright," I murmured quietly after a moment of silence. And it was extremely quiet, since the other zoo animals were watching silently, making my focus very limited no matter how hard I tried. "Just calm down and let me work here." My face burned from the gazes of everyone in the zoo. I waddled to my mute friend and took the roll of bandages that were near Kowalski. Poor guy was literally right in front of Madison. He might be deaf after this. Who knew a penguin could make such an ear splitting sound?

"Rico, I need some help," I told the worried penguin.

He nodded and jumped next to me.

"I need a needle," I instructed. Madison instantly had alarm flashing through her eyes, but I kept a firm hold on her shoulder. "Stay," I growled firmly. Admiration shown in Madison's eyes, that and her own stubborn behavior and distaste for needles. Rico hacked up that and some other things I would need to re-stitch Madison up. No doubt that this would affect our trip to Antarctica.

I saw Skipper in the corner of my eye looking away, probably not wanting to see the needle. I pushed Madison to the ground and began stitching her up. She had a determined expression to not show any fear or hurt, and I couldn't help but admire her resistance.

It took a couple of minutes, but the wound was stitched together, and now I needed to do was wrap it all up. I quickly wrapped the large and thick white binding around her. She didn't seem happy about it but didn't move in protest like usual. I jumped back in success and was embarrassed when everyone started cheering for my success. All the penguins, except Madison, and the other animals from the habitats were cheering. I couldn't handle everyone's gazes, so I ducked into the water.

I smiled as I saw Madison come in after me. She swam until she was in front of me and nodded her head in thanks with bubbles of air escaping her beak. I gave her a nod in return. Her beak turned upwards in a smile and she quickly swam off in a blur. I frowned as I saw Kowalski in her place. He had been behind her.

I smiled weakly and waved my flipper slightly in the water, making bubbles appear that had stuck onto my feathers. He didn't respond to my gestures, and came closer till he was mere inches away from my beak. I was startled, but I didn't move. He stroked the side of my face, not worrying if anybody saw him from above. I liked the little action, but I couldn't be pulled back into his heart. It was for the best. I swam back a little, enough so I was out of his reach. His expression filled with guilt, making me offer an apologetic look before I swam off.

If I wasn't in water already, you would see the tears coming down my face.

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><p><strong><strong>I hope you enjoyed this chapter.<strong> ****The clock is still ticking and now there's only three days left! ****Everything's falling apart, so very sad. Not very long till the girls leave.**

**Sara: I don't want to leave!**

**Me: Well you're leaving.**

**Flora: Are you sure?**

**Me: Yes, positive!**

**Amber: You sure we couldn't bribe you with…**

**Madison: *Pulls out a five pound chocolate bar***

**Me: OMG! Where did you get that?**

**Amber: I know a guy. Review while we try to bargain with this lunatic.**


	22. Sara's Lost Emotions

**Aw, only two more days. Then birdies go bye, bye. I'm not good at innocent characters, so this chapter was hard for me. This is more like a filler chapter, more about what's going to go down on their trip to Antarctica and other junk.**

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><p><strong>Sara's POV<strong>

Two days. Only two days left until we leave the zoo and everybody forever. It hurt. It hurt to have to leave Private and not able to say good-bye. I haven't even told him how I felt! It was torture and seeing Madison in some distant trance so often was scary. She's been like that since two days ago, when she walked out of the HQ and Rico had followed her for comfort reasons.

I had no idea about what went down but from the gossip I heard from the others animals, she had cried as she slid over to Burt's pen. Some point in the morning, I was able to get her and found her all bandaged up. I could tell she had been crying due to the unkempt feathers on her chest that were ruffled more then usual. We didn't speak of it, not like she could anyway, but I helped her get cleaned up so nobody would know. It was our little secret.

It was also dramatic with Flora now. Whenever she's near Kowalski she's nervous, more than usual, and she's being extra clumsy.

I wasn't doing much as I would have liked since that sewer incident. Flora and Kowalski had told me that most of the sewage had came out of my lungs, thanks to some kind of weird machine they made. I had no idea what it was called because of this long, weird scientific name, but I did catch sucker and 3000. That was it, so I just called it the Sucker 3000.

Anyway, I was just kicking back on a concrete seat, playing chess with Amber. She was _so_ good at it! I hoped that I could be just as good as her one day. She said I'm well rounded, and I take a lot after all of them. I didn't know about that. I felt like my own individual person.

"Checkmate and I win." Amber smirked and casually leaned back. "Another round?" she asked.

I shook my head, frustrated. "No way, you're too good at this. At least Flora can last ten minutes with you! This game only took two minutes, and you beat me!" I sighed, disappointed. "I wish I can be as good as you, one day."

"Practice makes perfect." She patted my head, waddled away and went up the ladder to who-knows-where.

I couldn't really practice if I didn't have an opponent with the 'same skills' as me. An idea perked me up as it popped into my head. I waddled over to the TV where a happy, cute Private was. "Private." I nudged him to get his attention.

He looked away from the TV. "Yes Sara?"

"Will you play chess with me?" I pleaded, putting on my most adorable expression, and I think it was working to get what I wanted.

"S-sure S-S-Sara," Private stuttered nervously with his face growing red. He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. I guessed he liked me as much as I liked him. Oh, how I hoped it was so!

"Yay!" I exclaimed and clapped my flippers together. I took his flipper and dragged him to the chess board. "Do you want black or white?" I asked. When I got no response, I looked around and realized that I didn't see Private. "Private?" I called out worriedly.

"Down here," came his dizzy voice.

I looked down and saw Private at my feet. "Oops," I giggled. "Did I drag you again?"

Private stood up and sat across from me for chess and replied, "Yes, but it's alright." He smiled and I smiled back. He was so sweet. He can tolerate me dragging him around all day, and he'd still have a smile on his face.

I set up the board and remembered my question from earlier. "Black or white?"

"White," came his answer.

I gave him his white pieces to set up while I set up the black ones. We then began our game soon after that.

"So…" Private started as he moved a piece. He looked around the HQ to see if anyone was there. Everybody else had gone out for snow cones but me, Amber and Private, who had declined their invitation to go with them. I think Amber went to go find them now that I think about it. "About what happened the other day…"

"You didn't like it?" I asked worriedly before he could finish as I moved one of my pieces.

Private immediately was taken back, "No, no , no, no! I liked it a lot! I loved it!" Private clamped his beak shut at what he just said like it was some big secret.

I felt my heart flutter. He liked it? No. He loved it? "You did?" I brightened up considerably.

Private blushed slightly and bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "Well…yeah," he murmured in his cute British accent.

I felt so happy! He did like it! I kept my excitement down though. "I'm glad you did," I murmured back while blushing. I struggled to keep my emotions at bay and from showing in my voice like how it usually betrayed me. I moved one of my pieces and smiled as I announced, "Checkmate."

Private stared at the board in disbelief. And said, "You won already? We just started!"

I giggled and told him, "You moved the wrong piece Private; you gave me an automatic win." Private slumped at the realization and put on a cute, pout face. I decided to press my luck, and kissed him on the cheek again. "Better?" I asked hopefully. He looked at me in some love struck trance and nodded. I giggled and waddled to the fridge to get some fish. "Would you like some fish too?"

He nodded as he broke out of his daze. "So…" he began awkwardly again. "What are you doing three days from now?" he asked.

I froze. Did he know?

"Why? W-what could possibly make you think I have plans? Nope, I got none. Absolutely, none. Zippo, zero. None, what's-"

Private cut me off. "I just wanted to know if you would like to do something that day?" he asked nervously.

I swallowed thickly. _Smooth Sara. Just smooth! Now he might suspect something! _"Oh, I actually might be busy that day," I lied, with the best innocent expression I could do to mask my true feelings.

Private looked at me strangely, and I knew I had said something wrong. "Didn't you just say you didn't have plans?" he asked, confused.

I rubbed the back of my head nervously. Man, I stink at lying when it comes Private! Usually it's so easy. "Well, I think Amber had something set up for us that day." I was telling the truth. We were going to be on a boat, and we had to hide from the crew. I just wasn't giving the full information, at least, that's what I tried telling myself.

Private sighed disappointedly and looked down at the ground with the saddest face I've ever seen. It broke my heart. "Well maybe some other time?" he asked hopefully. I had a feeling he wanted it specifically on Valentines Day, which broke my heart but at the same time brought warmth at the very thought.

I gave him a weak smile. "Maybe," I murmured quietly. I turned away, so I wouldn't have to look at his sad expression anymore. I looked up as I saw the hatch open and a couple of penguins drop down promptly after. I smiled as I saw the snow cones in their flippers. Amber, Flora and Madison walked to me with snow cones.

"Here you go." Amber placed the snow cone in my flippers. It was ice that had artificial syrup on it. It looked just like a clowns head!

I licked it and was surprised by the yummy flavors. "This is fantastic!" I exclaimed, grinning when I saw Amber and Flora licking there's while Madison chomped off chunks of hers. "Don't you want to enjoy your snow cone?" I inquired to her before she could take another chomp of hers. She looked at me thoughtfully and hesitantly licked hers. Her eyes grew, and she let a giant grin overcome her face. I giggled when she started licking it fiercely.

"You're right Skipper," Amber admitted when he waddled over to us. "These are good. And it does look like a clown head!" she laughed.

"Just the way I like it," Skipper said slyly with his trademark smirk.

Amber then faced me with a serious look. "I need to talk to you," she said to me. My face fell. _Did I do something wrong? _I then heard Amber whisper to Flora and Madison, "I need to talk you two as well."

We were going to talk about our trip. That was my best guest. I followed the others up the ladder with my snow cone at hand or flipper.

"We'll be back later," Amber called down the hatch.

I didn't catch what Skipper said, but I was guessing that we didn't have to worry about them spying on us. I watched Madison lay on her back on the fishbowl and swallow the whole cone of her treat as if she was some kind of trashcan. Flora laid up against her and continued to lick her own snow cone. I sat next to her as Amber paced in front of us, completely forgetting about the frosty treat in her flippers.

"Alright, I need to know," Amber began, stopping her pacing in front of us. "Do we got all the supplies we need?" she asked and tossed the snow cone out of the habitat. I gawked when I saw it land perfectly in a trash can.

"Madison?" Flora asked.

I turned back to them in time to see Madison hand Flora a pencil and clipboard. Flora threw her own snow cone away, so she could grab the pencil and clipboard. I thought for a second, I heard someone say, "MY CAR!" I looked back at Flora as she began to talk again.

"Let's go through the list…" Flora chewed at the eraser on her pencil. She had developed that habit a while ago. "Ten pounds of fish?"

"Got it," I answered.

"Four heat regulating blankets?"

"Got it."

"Knife?"

Madison answered that by jumping up and holding up a sharp knife, running her flipper over the edge and giving it a quick kiss. She twirled it around and did multiple tricks with it, probably just to show off. The whole time she did it with a psychotic smile. Whenever she did that, I felt worried about our well being.

"Whoa Madison!" Amber put her flippers up in defense. "Don't make anyone lose an eye here."

Madison growled as she twirled it around and threw it at the ground near me. I yelped, dropped my snow cone and ran behind Amber for protection. I am ashamed to say that I was shivering in fear.

"Madison, you can't be so careless with a knife!" Amber snapped harshly. Madison waved her off and got back on her spot on the fishbowl, though she looked a bit hurt by her outburst. Amber looked steamed, but I was glad that Flora started talking, before Amber would punish Madison.

"Do we have the salt?"

"I think we hid a jar of that in the storage room," I answered. I stepped away from Amber and sat back down next to Flora.

"I know I got the chemicals in there too…" Flora trailed off and checked off that thing on her list. "And do we have the necessary weapons?" Flora diverted the question to Amber, instead of me. I cocked my head in confusion. _What weapons? Were we supposed to gather some? _Madison got back up and nodded.

"Yes, I think that's also in the zoo storage room," Amber replied.

"What weapons?" I asked.

Flora glanced at me, and then turned back to Amber. "You didn't tell her?" she inquired and narrowed her eyes at our leader.

Amber sighed before saying, "I didn't think it was important. Plus I didn't want any arguments," she admitted.

_Arguments?_

"What weapons?" I inquired again, a little louder this time.

Flora slapped her flipper on my beak and answered my question. "We might have stolen some weapons from the guys," she admitted guiltily.

My eyes grew in size. I shoved Flora's flipper off my beak and turned to Amber angrily. "You stole weapons from the guys?" I squeaked. I might have yelled, but I didn't want the guys to hear me.

"Well, where else were we going to get some?" Amber asked, annoyed and impatient with my attitude.

"We could have gone to a store and pay for some!" I yelled. Flora and Madison's eyes widened at my harshness.

Amber was glaring and took a couple of steps forward until she loomed over me. It wasn't as intimidating as it should have been since she wasn't very much taller then me. It still scared me stiff though. "We don't have any money, and I'm not going to go through that trouble for weapons," she growled at me.

"And you'll go through the trouble of stealing their weapons?" I shot back.

She stepped back, but continued her glare. "It's easier that way," she hissed.

"You're taking the trust they give us and throwing it in the trash!"

"No one ever trusts us!"

"Because of what you do!" I couldn't help but notice Flora, and even Madison, looking at us in worry and stiffening at the words coming out of our beaks. What we were saying, more like shouting, shouldn't have even been said in the first place.

"What I do? What I do! What WE do! We have to do what it takes to survive!" Amber shouted right up in my face.

We had our foreheads pressed together as we pushed against one another in anger. We were both breathing heavily out of anger. I could tell that she wanted to hit me so badly and I wanted to hit her too, which I'm ashamed of. I don't think I've ever been this mad at her before.

"Could we at least try and find another way?"

"We're taking the fastest way possible! We need to get back!" Amber shouted. She clamped her beak shut, afraid that someone might have heard. My eyes went wide at the thought. What if the guys heard? It would ruin everything... Unfortunately, even when she was worried that someone might have heard her, she still found a way to keep yelling at me. "Why can't you let it go?" Amber hollered.

"Why can't you accept that some animals actually trust you!" I shot back, my voice raising again.

"Because it's all a lie! Always has been a lie! Do you think anyone trusts you?" She growled and jabbed my stomach with her flipper. She didn't even wait for an answer. "No! No body trusts us! Do you think Private trusts you? Well he doesn't! No body does, it's all just lies!" she yelled.

I felt my eyes prick with tears. _Private trusted me right? Didn't he? He had to be. No way he didn't trust me. _My sadness turned to anger in seconds. "Yes he does!" I screeched. "You don't know everything! SO STOP BEING AN IDOIT!" I clamped my beak shut, and I heard Flora gasp. Amber's angered look turned to an expressionless one in a second.

I was beyond scared right now. Never have I yelled at Amber like that before. Never. Not once in my life. This was the first time, and I didn't know the consequences for it. I've seen her do this thing before. One second she's angry and the next she's expressionless. Not a twitch or a move of her muscles. It was always unexpected actions from then on. Only one thing was to be expected. The worst of her anger.

She took a simple step toward me, and I flinched. She raised a flipper, and I closed my eyes, awaiting impact. It never came. I felt something on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes a crack at the feeling.

Amber had her flipper on my shoulder, and she held a sad expression on her face. I felt bad, but I was still a tad bit angry at her for everything she had done and said. "You must feel pretty strong about this belief, huh?" she asked me. I nodded slowly, letting my eyes open fully again. "I may not agree with you, but I will set my own feelings aside for what you believe in. Ok?"

My eyes went wide with surprise at the turn of events. This was so different then what I expected. I was in shock. She was setting her own feelings aside for me? Flora must be right. She probably does have a soft spot for me, just like Flora and Madison did for me.

"O-ok," I stuttered, fearing she was tricking me somehow.

She narrowed her eyes back into a glare and pointed a flipper at my face. "But if you find out that he doesn't trust you, then don't come crying to me."

I smiled. That was the Amber I knew. I decided that it would be better forgetting about the weapons. I knew I couldn't convince Amber to do anything different anyway. Besides, maybe they could get new and better ones! Flora and Kowalski must have worked on tons with all the time they had spent in the lab together.

Amber turned back to the other two. "So what's next on the list?" she asked calmly, folding her flippers over her chest.

What I was surprised about was that Amber dropped the whole yelling thing off, just like that, like it never happened. One of the things I liked about her is that she had the ability to do such a thing, when she wanted to at least. Too bad it didn't happen very often.

Flora cleared her throat and looked over the list. "Fish, blankets, knife, salt, weapons…" Flora muttered as she scanned the list over again, "and I know I got the chemicals and some water for the trip. The clipboard and pencil is last, so we got everything."

"Excellent. Should we go over the phases one last time?" Amber asked her second in command.

"I think it'd be a good idea," Flora answered. Madison and I nodded our heads in agreement.

"Alright, so phase one," Amber started and left Flora to explain.

"We go during the day with the excuse that we're going shopping when we are really delivering the items we have to the cargo hold of the Antarctic ship," Flora explained. "And we make sure we clear away the boxes and make a safe hiding spot for the trip."

Amber smirked faintly. "Phase two."

"Then on the night before Valentines Day, we leave when the guys are sleeping and try to avoid them in any way possible. We avoid detection as we escape from the zoo and slide all the way to the docks. Then we will knock out any guards, animals, etc. so we can get on the ship safely."

"Phase three."

"We then go to the command center of the ship. There, I look at the map and set the coordinates by hacking into the computers mainframe. It switches its original destination to our destination."

"And phase four."

"We just hide out and preserve our fish with the salt and wait out in the cargo hold until the boat reaches our location. Then we sneakily get off, with whatever we have left with us, and then we're home," Flora finished. Amber appeared pleased with the explanation. I glanced at Madison, and I could tell that she blocked out everything Flora had said.

"Great explanation. So we all good?" Amber asked. The three of us nodded our heads. "Alright, so remember, our plan is launched in two days," she reminded pointlessly, since we counted the days down anxiously.

I sighed inwardly. _Two days. Just two days._ I smiled as I thought about Private though. _I'll make sure we have the most fun ever until that comes!_

"Got it Amber." Flora saluted. Madison nodded and did an awkward looking salute. She was never good with those.

I saluted also. "Crystal clear."

"Good. Now I'm going into the city. I got a hankering for a pretzel." Amber rubbed her flippers together.

I glared at her slightly. "Don't knock anybody out," I ordered, annoyed that she might be thinking that.

"No promises." Amber smiled deviously as she went over our penguin habitat bars.

"Amber!" I called out with annoyance. She didn't pay attention and continued to the Zoo gates.

We all watched as she easily slipped through the gates that protected the people from Amber's knock out spree.

"Think she's going to knock out a couple of people?" I asked worriedly.

"Oh yeah definitely," Flora answered without hesitation. Madison nodded in agreement and back flipped into the water for a swim. I jumped in after her, with Flora behind me. Swimming around, I watched Madison tease Flora underwater by jabbing her and swimming away before Flora could catch her.

I swam over to the little window that showed the guys in the HQ. I watched Private from the glass as he watched The Lunacorns. I was definitely going to miss him. Not to mention that I couldn't get rid of the nagging guilt of betrayal to him and the other guys. I felt terrible. It was only a matter of time before we left, and I still didn't tell him how I felt about him. I'm not even sure if it's just a crush anymore.

I swam away from the window before any of them saw me and started chasing after my two friends. At least I had them. They'd never go away, no matter what happened.

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><p><strong>Well, I enjoyed showing Sara's angry side. So sad that they're leaving in two days. I bet Amber is going to miss her pretzels.<strong>

**Amber: You monster!**

**Skipper: You like them that much?**

**Flora: No doubt she does.**

**Me: Can I be alone for one day? Please! Look I love all of ya, but you're killing me here.**

**Private: Perhaps you need a moment?**

**Me: I guess I do. I'm going to lay around. Please review my story!**

**Everybody: Review!**

**Me: AAAHHH! *Slams into a wall and is knocked out***

**Madison: *Stares and pokes me***


	23. Amber's Frustration

**Man, only one day till the girls leave. Can you feel the suspense? No? Well I can. And thanks for all the reviews! Makes me feel good inside, and refuels my determination to continue! Anyway… here's my next chapter! Just so you know, I barely even knew what to put in this chapter. Extreme case of writers block here! But I did my best.**

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><p>My girls don't seem too happy. Tomorrow night is when we leave, so I decided to give them some time off for the day. For now at least. I kind of regret it now. It will only make them more attached to the guys if they hung around them. Actually, now that I think about it, Flora and Madison aren't near the guys at all. Only Sara is. The innocent little soul doesn't know what she is getting into.<p>

Either way, we're leaving, so I'm not letting _anything_ get in our way. We've planned this for too long and have gotten everything ready. Last thing I want is to be delayed in any way. We need to get home! Everybody back there is counting on us. I won't let them down. It's our mission to make sure they're safe. They're probably hungry to death right now! They are too afraid to get their own fish...but I got a friend up there that is probably helping out.

I'm glad that the girls didn't ask questions when I wanted ten pounds of fish. We were only going to eat two fish a day, so we would get used to the hunger we lived on in Antarctica. Then the extras would go to the penguins back home. I think they understood what I was planning on doing with that fish in the first place.

I was genuinely bored right now. I was doing absolutely nothing; I'm being very literal. You look at me and think I stopped breathing. I was doing more thinking then actions. Damn, I was acting too much like Flora right now. Action could clear your mind much better then thinking. In my opinion, at least. Eh, what are you going to do? I'm an action hero at heart. A stonewall hearted action hero.

"Amber?" a voice asked me.

I looked down from the bunk I was laying at and saw Skipper. _Of course. The penguin I want to see the least is right in front of me_. I couldn't help, but notice a twinge of happiness come when I saw him. Stupid emotions don't know anything about me. "What's up?"

He pointed toward the TV, and I had to suppress my smile when I looked. Madison and Sara were fighting for the remote again. The others were watching in pure amusement. This was a normal occurrence but it did get funny at times. These were one of those times.

Kowalski was standing next to Flora; both were chuckling and holding their beaks so they wouldn't bust out laughing. Private was watching with worried eyes but had a small amused smile. Rico was cleaning this weird machine that Flora and Kowalski must have made, but he was watching with an odd interest.

"Just give me the remote!" Sara whined. Madison shook her head, and tried desperately to pry it from her grip. I admit that I had no idea how Sara could hold on like that. "Just," Sara pulled it again, and they rocked back and forth, "give it," she pulled again, "to-" I saw Madison get a mischievous smile. That wasn't good. "-Me!"

Just as she requested, Madison let go and Sara stumbled back and fell backwards on the ground. "Madison!" she squealed. "That's not funny!" she yelled at her chuckling friend. As Sara got up, Madison snatched the remote from her.

"Madison, just give her the remote," I ordered. She growled at me but reluctantly gave the remote back to Sara when she saw my glare. "That's more like it. Now stop fighting, it's not helping anyone around here," I scolded. Those two were giving me a headache. They kept fighting like they were sisters. It was so annoying. I rubbed my temple to get rid of the mild headache.

"Aspirin?" Skipper inquired.

"Please," I muttered in answer. He went off to get me some. I have to make a mental note to take some when we leave.

"Amber, are we doing any training today?" my second in command asked me.

I shook my head tiredly in response. As much as I wanted to train everyday, I didn't feel up to it this morning. I felt rather depressed, which was odd, because I had no idea why I was. Maybe I'll figure it out later. Then again, maybe training is something I need. "Actually," I said, before Flora walked away, "I think we could use some training."

"Great idea." Flora smiled at me with approval.

"Alright girls, topside, pronto!" I ordered. The three penguins' of my team went up the hatch immediately. I went after them and was able to say, "Later!" to the guys. "Alright, so start stretching, and-" I was cut off when something furry was launched into my beak. I started choking and Flora ran over and went behind me, smacking the back of my head. The furry thing came out of my beak, and I found its fur all over my tongue.

"Oh, it's on my tongue!" I gagged. "Get it off!" I started scraping all the fur off my tongue. "Get it off, get it off!" I started running my tongue all over the ground. I might have overreacted but sweet salmon that tasted terrible. Utterly awful!

"Mort, are you ok?" Sara asked.

I looked over with my tongue hanging around. Apparently Mort had been launched into my beak. No wonder it tasted so bad.

"I flew!" Mort exclaimed excitedly.

"Mort, why were you 'flying'?" Flora asked, putting air quotes.

"King Julien's foot met my face," he giggled. "I love the king's feet!"

I face palmed and waddled to them. I scraped my tongue with my flippers one last time to get the fur off before speaking. "You're going to let Julien abuse you like that?"

"Abuse me how?" Mort inquired innocently. Madison patted his innocent head in amused sympathy.

"I sympathize your stupidity," I heard Flora mutter. I chuckled at those words, making both Flora and me smile.

"Mort, do you need to go back to your habitat?" Sara asked curiously.

"Yes I do," Mort answered with his head lowered with a small determined scowl. "The feet are mine."

"Here that? Mort needs a ride back home. Madison!" I barked. Madison got close to Mort, picked him up, and flung him over to the lemur habitat. I face palmed. That was _not _what I meant. I could hear his screams as he soared in the air. "I wanted you to escort him back," I growled. Madison shrugged sheepishly at these words. Now that I think about, I probably should've asked Sara.

I jumped slightly, when the fishbowl scraped aside. Skipper's head popped out, and he held out a mug that must've had my aspirin. "Thanks." I took the mug from his flippers. He nodded to me, before going back down. I snorted, turned back to the girls, and took a sip of the water.

"Why do you think Julien kicked Mort for?" Sara asked, concerned for the mouse lemurs condition.

"I believe the answer is obvious," Flora stated. "He must have touched his feet."

Madison nodded her head. It did seem like a likely answer. It usually was, actually. We found that out pretty quickly and usually saw Mort flying around because of that.

"That seems just about right," I put out.

"Agreed," Flora and Sara said together.

"Now, where was I…oh yeah. So we will-" I was once again, cut off from a voice.

"Hey g-!" the voice started, before I yelled out, "Attack!"

We all automatically tackled the figure, and I lost my mug in the process. I noticed the thing we tackled had brown fur, and I then knew who it was. "Sorry Marlene, but you should know better." I got off of her, and beckoned the others to do so as well.

"Well that doesn't matter, because guess what?" Marlene asked us excitedly. Personally, I'm relieved that she didn't care that we tackled her onto hard concrete, but I don't want to deal with what she had to say right now. Gossip wasn't my thing unless if it was useful.

"What?" Sara asked curious. I rolled my eyes. _Don't get much of a choice, do I?_

"I heard new animals are coming to the zoo in a couple of months! I'm so excited! I heard one is going to be an otter! Would you all want to go visit them with me when they get here?" Marlene asked.

I saw Sara's face fall as she asked, "In a couple of months?" Marlene nodded.

"Can't," I said automatically.

Marlene frowned. "Why not?"

"We're going to be sick around that time," Sara put in nervously.

I slapped the back of her head. _What the heck is she thinking? _"We're going to be busy," I growled and eyed Sara warily. I might have been a little harsher then I intended to be, but I had to make my point.

"Oh." Marlene sighed at the rejection. Her ears dropped down in disappointment. "Well I'll see you all later then."

I watched her go into the water, jump over our habitat walls, and start for her habitat. I felt bad for Marlene. The poor thing. _No Amber, don't sympathize! No attachments! _I slapped myself hard across my face and winced at the sudden stinging pain that came from it. "Why'd you say that?" I scolded Sara, rubbing my cheek where I had slapped myself.

"I'm so sorry! I panicked, and I didn't know what to-" Sara sputtered but Flora cut her off.

"Just calm down," she soothed. "Marlene didn't look suspicious, and she didn't press us at all, so I don't think you screwed up." Flora hesitated before adding, "Too bad, at least."

"Don't let it fool you!" I barked. "She could be on too us." I glanced suspiciously at the otter habitat.

"Doubtfully. She's to naïve, and innocent," Flora argued.

"Yeah, you keep thinking that."

"Do you have to be suspicious of everybody?" Sara sighed in exasperation. I didn't answer and went to the edge of the concrete island.

"Are we still going to train sir?" Flora inquired.

I rubbed my temple, frustrated. Maybe training wouldn't help. Every little sound or action was getting too me. I really wish I had my aspirin right now. But I had lost it tackling Marlene. _Curse the world! _

"No, this is getting irritating," I answered. It was as if the universe was against me because just then, Julien turned up his boom box. I clenched my flippers, and grinded my beak. "Shut off that racket!" I yelled. Don't get me wrong, I love music, but my headache was really bad right now. I was extremely frustrated by this point in time. I narrowed my eyes into a glare when I saw Madison dancing to the music. Even Flora was tapping her foot to the beat, and Sara was humming along the tune and swaying around. I coughed to get their attention.

They immediately stopped what they were doing and did an automatic salute. Much to my own amusement, Madison stumbled and landed on Flora, who in turn knocked Sara over and there was soon a penguin pile at my feet.

"Well if that isn't cute," I joked. The three penguins soon got up, flustered.

"My apologies," Flora said nervously and rubbed the back of her head, careful not to touch the daisy flower on her head.

"Sorry," Sara murmured. Madison just shrugged. A common response from her.

"Whatever but just want to remind you that we have to leave tomorrow night. Ok?" I looked at them for an answer. My team nodded and I smirked, satisfied.

"So…no training?" Sara asked hesitantly.

"No training," I confirmed.

"Yay!" she squealed.

I glared at her. _What, she didn't want to train? I could make her do a couple of laps around this concrete floe in the water, right now. _

"I mean, you know, I like to train, but there's this thing, and-" she cut herself off, and stared at the ground before she got herself in too deep.

"Don't get worked up, just do whatever it is that you do." I waved her off.

Sara brightened up instantly and said, "Thanks Amber"

As if I didn't know where she would go, she went back down into the HQ. Most likely to spend time with Private. "What are you two going to do?" I faced back to my two other penguin companions. Except one wasn't there. "Alright. Where'd Madison go?"

"Um, my guess is over there." Flora pointed behind me. I looked where she pointed at and found Madison dancing next to Maurice and Julien and, for a weird reason, had Mort on her head. Poor Mort had to deal with her bobbing her head around to the rock and roll music. He was holding on to dear life on her red baseball hat.

"You should probably watch her, so she doesn't pop a stitch," I suggested.

"That's understandable," Flora answered and rubbed her flipper under her beak briefly before vaulting over the habitat fence to reach the lemurs.

"Well I got time to kill," I muttered to myself. Now what to do, what to do... I could do a lot of things right now. Recon, take a sushi shop hostage, get a pretzel, and maybe even go over to Marlene's. Nah, no Marlene, I've had enough of her for today. I had already gotten a pretzel yesterday from some weird hippie guy. And I want to keep a low key, so taking the sushi shop is out of the question. Recon was sounding pretty good right now.

I jumped out of the habitat with a flip and landed with a thud on the other side. I waddled over to the clock tower and jumped against the walls till I reached the top. Disturbance crept over me when I saw dried up blood up there. I would have to ask the girls if they knew anything about that. Wouldn't it be great to have a murder mystery?

I reached my flipper under the bell and took a pair of binoculars that were hidden. Skipper had shown me this at one point during our first month here.

I looked through them as I surveyed the zoo. It was a lot like the penguin colony back home. Maybe that was it. I just wanted to protect them all like the ones back home. I admit, I knew that part of the reason I was upset was because of the guys. I would miss them, no doubt. Even if they would get on my nerves time to time. I may not trust them all that much, but I felt that I could count on them, just a little bit. I already knew that Sara had trusted them completely on the first day, and Flora didn't take long to get use to them. She was adaptive that way, which was always useful. Madison… I have no idea what she thinks. Girl has a weird mind, and I have no idea what runs through that head of hers.

I watched as Joey ate a shrub, which got me thinking about why he was such a bad guy. I swiveled a bit and spotted a sleeping koala, who Skipper told me didn't like us penguins. I smiled slightly when I saw the lemur habitat.

Flora must have thought that to watch Madison that she would have to dance with her. For a penguin that's flexible, she's clumsy. I watched those two as Madison laughed when Flora tripped over her own feet with Mort still on Madison's head for reasons unknown to me. Flora was then helped up by Maurice and they became engaged in a conversation. I think I can speak for Flora, and Sara when I saw he is our favorite of all the lemurs. I still don't know what Madison thought.

"What are you doing up here?" a voice asked me.

"Ah!" I screamed as I threw the binoculars at whoever said that. It was only Skipper, who caught the binoculars easily. "Don't sneak up on me like that," I snapped harshly with my chest rising quickly.

"Well I wasn't really sneaking." Skipper handed me back the binoculars with a smirk as he waddled up to me. "So what are you looking at?"

"Lemurs," I reported simply. "Madison and Flora are over there."

"Let me see that." Skipper took back the binoculars and watched what was happening in the lemur habitat. He looked back up at me and handed the binoculars back once again, which I put over my head, hanging around my neck. "Have Kowalski and Flora been acting strange to you?" he asked.

"Strange how?" I inquired and folded my flippers behind my back

Skipper narrowed his eyes a bit. "I don't know. They just aren't experimenting anymore and it looks awkward between them." Skipper rubbed the bottom of his beak suspiciously as if something terrible conspired, which I assumed too.

"Yeah, I noticed that too." I pondered the situation. Something obviously happened between the two. "Maybe we should ask them?" I suggested simply. Skipper simply hummed at the idea. "I heard there's going to be new animals here in a couple of months. Ones going to be an otter."

"Really?" Skipper seemed surprise.

"Really. I have no idea if it's a girl or boy though," I answered.

"Where'd you get this Intel?" he asked. "And why wasn't I informed?"

"Who else but Marlene," I answered with a snort.

"Of course," Skipper sighed.

Awkward silence.

"So…" I started awkwardly.

"So…"

Silence once more.

"Alright, we both know this is awkward," I said in agitation.

"Well what do you want to do?" Skipper rolled his eyes.

"Oh we could just go prancing in a land of ponies," I said sarcastically.

"Private and Sara would be up for that." Skipper laughed, catching my drift.

"Especially if there were Lunacorns in it," I added.

"It would be heaven to them." Skipper smirked at me with a certain fondness in his eyes.

"No kidding!" I stared at him a second before asking, "So why'd you come up here?"

"Saw you up here, and I thought we could talk about our teams weird behaviors. Like how Madison is avoiding Rico, and how he's tying to get closer to her," Skipper told me as an answer. He did seem concerned for them. Even my own girls.

I felt a slight twinge of guilt. Madison was just following orders. That or she was doing what she wanted, and just didn't want to be around Rico. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll pass soon." It would all pass soon. We will be leaving tomorrow night, and we'll all forget this ever happened.

"Hopefully," Skipper sighed.

"Don't worry, I know it will," I told him confidently and patted his back.

"Want to go back into the old HQ and play some chess?" he asked with a glint of a challenge in his eyes. He knew me well enough to know that I love to play that and checkers. Also cards. I enjoyed little pass time stuff like that.

I shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

We jumped off the clock tower and headed back for our beloved HQ. Skipper's beloved HQ I mean. "Did you see that dried blood up there?" Skipper asked me suspiciously with a cringe.

"Yeah, I have no idea how it got there," I answered and cringed myself. Skipper hummed in interest. I glared playfully at him and said, "Now don't go thinking I was responsible." He seemed amused.

I was going to miss him playing chess with me. He was a mighty opponent. So was Flora and Kowalski, but Skipper did a more head on thing that made the game more interesting. Too bad it's all going away tomorrow. Damn this is getting frustrating.

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><p><strong>Not exactly the best of all chapters, but it's something! I'm actually really excited for the next and possibly, the final chapter. Muhahaha! Will the girls leave, or will they stay? Send me a review of your opinion! <strong>

**Sara: Don't make us leave!**

**Flora: We want to stay!**

**Me: I'll do whatever I want.**

**Amber: You sick twisted monster!**

**Me: Wow, my OC's hate me. That stings right there. *Points to heart* Please review though, cause I love it when you do!**


	24. Leaving

**This might be the last chapter. Oh my god! Please review this chapter! I still appreciate the reviews. All questions will soon be explained. Eventually. At some future date.**

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><p>"So we'll be going…" Sara trailed off.<p>

"Shopping," Flora finished.

Amber added, "So we'll be gone for most of the day."

"Why would you need to go shopping?" Private asked.

Fortunately, they planned for this, so they were ready.

"You know, food and stuff we might like," Flora answered. "Plus Madison does want another tape recorder." Madison nodded eagerly as she pulled her recorder out and hugged it affectionately, like a toy bear to a child.

"Well have fun!" Private said cheerfully. He was convinced but were the others?

"Girls," Skipper muttered and rolled his eyes. He waddled away to their table and got his mug of fish coffee.

"Would you mind picking up a proton accelerator for me?" Kowalski asked hopefully.

Flora rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I don't think they have those where were going," she told him awkwardly. Kowalski slumped and went to his lab. Rico wasn't anywhere to be found, so the girls then left without another word.

Kowalski poked his head out of the lab door when he heard the fishbowl slide back into place. "Are they gone?" he whispered. Skipper nodded. "Yes!" Kowalski shouted. Skipper, Private and Rico, who suddenly appeared, stared at him strangely. Kowalski coughed into his flipper awkwardly. "I wanted to do some things and with their absence, I can accomplish just that." He started going for Privates First Prize when Skipper stopped him.

"Where are you going soldier?" Skipper asked suspiciously.

Kowalski turned his head as he answered, "Going to do a little shopping myself."

"Can I come with you?" Private asked hopefully.

"Well, I guess," Kowalski muttered.

Private jumped up and down in glee, completely missing the annoyance in the lieutenant's voice. "Let's go!" The young penguin eagerly went through the prize entrance, with a reluctant Kowalski behind him.

"This might be harder then I thought…" Kowalski mumbled.

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><p>The girls were currently in a storage room and were looking for their items for the trip back to Antarctica. They had unfortunately forgotten where they had put everything and with Alice rearranging everything, it added up to a long search indeed.<p>

"Where are my chemicals?" Flora exclaimed, freaking out as she ran behind every crate in a panic frenzy.

"I can't find the salt!" Sara hollered as she looked inside a barrel. She coughed and sneezed as she inhaled pepper. "It burns!" She fell to the ground, and began sneezing profusely from the pepper. Madison was running around, looking for the weapons they had taken. She looked angrier every time she found an empty crate, barrel or space.

"Calm down!" Amber's voice echoed throughout the whole storage room. Everything went quiet, except for Sara's constant sneezing. "I already found the salt and chemicals." The silver bird pointed to the items at her feet, along with ten pounds of fish, a tiny barrel of water and four blankets. Flora gaped and fell backwards.

Sara had stopped sneezing and looked rather angry. "So I inhaled pepper for nothing!" she cried. Amber shrugged her shoulders and nodded with a faint trace of amusement. "Ugh!" Sara threw her flippers in the air and fell backwards in exasperation

Madison walked over to Amber with a knife clamped in her beak, holding a sack, which carried their weapons, in her flippers. She looked at the fallen over penguins', and tilted her head to the side quizzically at her leader.

"It's nothing. So you got the weapons?" Amber asked. Madison nodded and threw the sack near the other items. "Hey be careful! You might break something," Amber hissed. Madison pretended not to hear and twirled the knife in her flippers. "You're pushing your luck here," Amber growled. Madison whistled innocently, and hid the knife behind her back.

"So we got everything?" Flora asked, who had gotten off the ground.

"Yup," Amber answered with a nod.

"I have one question though," Sara said, who also got off the ground by now and was sitting up.

Amber folded her flippers behind her back. "Yes Sara, what is it?"

"How are we going to get all this to the ship?" Sara asked.

They all face palmed, except for the innocent Sara.

"Alright, who forgot to find a way to get this stuff to the ship?" Flora yelled, exasperated.

"That'd be you, Flora." Amber glared.

Flora's face fell. "Oh. Never mind."

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><p>In the mall was two penguins' hiding under a resting bench. Kowalski kept looking at the map from their spot, which was pretty close, while Private kept a look out for any people that might spot them.<p>

"So what are you going to shop for Kowalski?" Private asked curiously.

Kowalski was looking at a map of the mall, trying to find a specific shop that marked his needs. "Found it!" he exclaimed once he found what he was looking for. "Follow me." Kowalski started sliding around cautiously to avoid people with Private at his tail feathers.

"Where are we going Kowalski?" Private asked him quietly so the humans wouldn't hear them.

"You'll see."

The two penguins' soon came to a store that was filled with heart shaped balloons, chocolates, flowers and little stuffed animals that said, 'Hug me', 'Happy Valentines Day', or even, 'I love you' on them.

"Kowalski?" Private looked rather surprised at the store Kowalski had picked.

"Ok, I admit that I wanted to get Flora something for Valentines Day," Kowalski confessed. "I just wanted to give her something special, so she might change her mind about break-" he cut himself off. He didn't want to tell Private he _was_ in a relationship, and he especially didn't want to tell him that they had broken up recently. He had pride.

"Funny," Private chuckled and bashfully rubbed the back of his head. "I was going to get Sara something for Valentines Day as well."

Kowalski's panicked face turned into a smile. "You like Sara?" he asked slyly.

Private blushed and looked flustered. "Maybe. And what about you? You like Flora?" he shot back.

Kowalski didn't take it as bad as Private thought he would. "I believe so yes. I think I might l-" Kowalski caught himself before he said love, "like her a lot," he said instead. "Now I want to get some things for her before the day ends."

"I hope I can get something special for Sara." Private smiled at the thought of handing Sara a Valentines gift. He had wanted to bring her on something like a 'date' but she had said she was busy so he accepted that fact. A present for Valentines Day was as close as he could get to show her any sort of affection.

"Might as well start looking."

"I call the stuffed animals!" Private ran over to the isle with a bunch of stuffed animals, while Kowalski went for the chocolates.

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><p>"Push harder!" Amber ordered, trying to push a large crate around in an alleyway with her girls.<p>

The female penguins' were getting close to the port, where the boat was waiting. They've been pushing it for about half an hour, and they were getting slower every minute. It was even harder because they had to avoid the people, so they would throw it over things that got in their way. It was brutal work.

"I don't think I can!" Sara puffed. Madison growled as she did a powerful push on the crate. This really wasn't helping her wound.

"Yes you can, now push!" Amber ordered.

"I think the port is around the corner," Flora wheezed.

They kept pushing and, just like Flora said, the port was there around the corner.

"Now how will we get this thing up there without breaking our bones?" Amber asked Flora.

"I could set up a label for it, and later on today the people will load it onto the boat," Flora answered.

"I like that idea," Amber praised and nodded her approval.

Flora added, "We just need to get it closer to the boat."

Amber groaned. "Back to pushing this thing I guess," she grumbled. They all groaned as they, once again, started to push the crate to the boat that was a yard away. Worst part was that a whole bunch of crates were in their way.

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><p>"She might like this one. No, she'll like this one. Or maybe this one!" Private couldn't pick just one stuffed animal and was carrying at least seven at the moment. He suddenly dropped all of them and went towards one that stood out of them all. It was a lunacorn stuffed animal. Yes they made those, here at least.<p>

"It's perfect!" Private exclaimed. He was just lucky that no one was in the store, except the cashier, who had fallen asleep. He took the toy from its place, and tried to look for words on it but there wasn't any. "Where's the words?" the young bird sighed in disappointment. He waddled away with the stuffed animal in his flippers and went to look for Kowalski.

In a different isle, Kowalski was debating on white or milk chocolate for Flora. "Should I go with the creamy sensation of milk chocolate, or do I venture into the sensational taste of white?" he debated while holding the boxes in his flippers like a weight scale.

"Kowalski!" Private shouted in the isle. He then saw Kowalski with a bunch of chocolate boxes at his feet. "There you are, Kowalski."

"Oh hello Private," Kowalski sighed. "Should I get milk?" He held up a milk chocolate box. "Or white?" He shook a box with white chocolate.

"Everybody likes milk chocolate!" Private said happily.

Kowalski looked at Private exasperated. "You know that not everybody likes chocolate or even milk chocolate right, Private?"

"Um… well anyway!" Private tried to divert Kowalski's question. "Why aren't there words on this one when all the others have ones?" He held up the lunacorn plush to Kowalski. "I don't see why not. They're lunacorns!"

"It's a different one Private. You take this tag off-" he pointed to a tag sticking on the side of the plush, "-and then when it makes a beep sound, you record what you want it to say. It'll have your voice and everything," Kowalski explained.

"Brilliant!" Private gasped and brought the plush to his chest.

"So you think I should go with the milk instead of the white?" Kowalski asked hesitantly, shaking the box.

"Of course," Private responded cheerfully.

Kowalski smiled and said, "Alright. I think I heard her say she liked milk chocolate anyway." Private sweat dropped anime style.

They both searched the store somemore; looking for other things their Valentine's might want. When they were done, they went up to the counter and left some money for the things they had bought. In the end, Kowalski had gotten Flora milk chocolate, roses and daisies. He had no idea how he was going to hide_ that_ from Skipper. He also tried not to sneeze from the flowers. Private had gotten a little pink rose, a lunacorn plush and a small heart balloon for Sara.

"How will we hide these from Skippah?" Private asked Kowalski as they walked out of the shop cautiously and hid in the shadows. They avoided people, as Kowalski responded, "We will have to hide them somewhere. But where?"

"How about in the zoo storage room?" Private suggested.

Kowalski nodded his approval. "Good idea, we'll just hide it behind a couple of crates."

The penguins' soon found themselves outside the mall, and they started their long way back home at the Central Park Zoo.

* * *

><p>"And…there!" Flora had finished making the label and slapped it onto the large crate with their things. She was able to write fragile on it too so there things wouldn't get messed up. Flora turned back to her friends and saw them panting and leaning against crates. Except Amber, who was leaning casually against one, perfectly fine.<p>

"Good job Flora," Amber praised. "So have you calculated our little schedule?"

"Yes. If we leave now, we should get back to the zoo around 0600 and then, if my estimation is correct and we all know it is, we leave 1100 and we will get here in time. And since the boat leaves 1200, we will make it on time, and most likely have a few minutes to rest before it leaves."

"Excellent plan. Alright get up, and let's go back to the zoo," Amber ordered.

"Wait, I had a thought." Sara winced as she got up. Pushing the crate had left her tired and sore. "We said we were going shopping right? Well won't they be suspicious if we come back with nothing?"

"Who forgot to think of that?" Flora shouted at the sky with her flippers held over her head.

"Flora. That was you. Again," Amber hissed.

"Oh yeah. Sorry."

* * *

><p>"Should I put it here?" Private asked.<p>

"No put it over there, they might see the balloon," Kowalski instructed, frustrated.

"Here?" Private asked.

"No, to your left," Kowalski groaned. He slapped his flipper onto his forehead when Private went the wrong direction. "No, to your _other _left!"

"Here?" Private inquired, getting annoyed himself.

"Yes there, now help me find a refrigerated area." Kowalski shook the box of milk chocolate.

"What about that mini fridge over there?" Private suggested. Kowalski waddled over to a miniature fridge at the corner of the storage room. "Why is there a mini fridge here?" Private asked.

"Alice comes in here to eat for her break sometimes," Kowalski answered and placed the chocolate in there. "I don't blame her. It's quiet in here."

"What makes you think she won't eat it?"

"Tomorrows Valentines Day, she'll have a day off."

The two penguins snapped their heads around when they heard a crashing sound come from outside.

"We should check that out," Kowalski said hastily, and the two made their way out of the storage room.

"Seriously! Madison, Flora, stop fooling around!" they heard Amber yell.

Kowalski and Private looked around a corner, and saw Amber with her flippers on her hips with a dangerous scowl on her face. Sara was hiding behind her slightly with a rather concerned expression. Madison and Flora were on the ground in awkward positions and had a couple of sacks near them with lumps, suggesting there were items inside.

"She tripped me!" Flora pointed an accusing flipper at Madison. Madison rolled her eyes and looked annoyed.

"Hello?" Private greeted hesitantly. All their heads snapped up at his voice.

"Hello," Amber greeted back calmly. She then turned back to Flora and Madison and started yelling again. "Why did you trip Flora?"

Madison shook her head violently. She didn't trip Flora. Not on purpose at least.

"You so did! I saw you!" Flora growled. Madison sat up and threw her flippers up in mock defeat, and waddled away with two sacks in her flippers.

"Where are you going?" Amber demanded. Madison turned back to them as she passed Kowalski and Private, only shrugging in annoyance and frustration. "She is being difficult." Amber rubbed her temple.

"So, what did you all get?" Private wanted to get their attention on something else.

Sara bounced up to him happily but there was a slight glisten of sadness in her eyes. "Fish and other things we found interesting," she answered.

"Like this baby!" Amber yanked a crowbar out of one of the sacks and started swinging it around at an unknown enemy.

"What are you doing?" Flora asked in exasperation.

"Invisible enemies everywhere!" Amber swung it around in a circle and actually hit something.

"Ow!" the voice yelped. It sounded like…

"Julien!" Amber growled. She swung at the spot again and made contact with him again.

"Ow! What did you do dat for?" Julien shouted.

"For sneaking up on me!" Amber swung again and hit him once more.

"OW! Now, what was that for?" He did not learn to move from his spot.

"I just don't like you." Amber made a move to swing again at the invisible ring-tailed lemur, but Flora stopped her by grabbing the end of the crowbar.

"Would you stop hitting him?" Flora shouted, loosing her patience.

"I agree with the tall pretty penguin. Will you stop hitting me!" Julien shouted.

Kowalski felt himself grow angry at Julien complimenting Flora like that. The fact that Flora was blushing afterwards only made it worse.

"Fine but if this guy bothers me again, so help me…" Amber tossed the crowbar at Sara, who caught it easily before it contacted with her head. Amber stalked away to where Madison had gone and muttered inaudible words as she went. It was better for everyone that they didn't hear her.

"Julien how did you get invisible?" Flora grunted as she threw the last sack over her shoulder that Amber had left unattended.

"I may have found a ray thingy and might have pressed a pushy button," Julien answered slowly. "It is, however, not my fault. I blame Mort!"

Sara pouted. "Don't blame Mort," she scolded.

"I blame whoever I am to be blaming!" the invisible Julien shouted.

Sara was clearly confused. "Wait, what?"

Flora went through the sack and pulled out random chemicals. "Stay calm, Julien, and everything will be just fine and back to normal." She quickly slurred a bunch together and, once it turned red in color, splashed the concoction onto Julien.

"It burns! I feel like I'm melting!" Julien screamed.

"Calm down," Flora instructed, irritated. "It'll turn you back to your original, visible state. I'm 49.7% sure of it."

"I can live with that," Kowalski put out, appearing next to Flora and tried to smile charmingly at her but she refused to look at him. Julien slowly became visible again, but he looked red. No really, his fur was dyed red.

"Is that supposed to happen?" Private and Sara asked worriedly.

"Uh technically speaking…" Flora started.

"No," Kowalski finished.

"Why is the royal fur red?" Julien exclaimed, shocked and horrified.

Sara tapped her flippers together. "Think of it as a new look." She tried to put a positive spin on it but she didn't think anyone would appreciate it.

"Yes, it looks rather…" Flora struggled to find the right words but settled with, "Good?"

It wasn't the best word for it, but it seemed to satisfy Julien. Probably a bit more then it should have. "Do you like?" Julien said with a flirting tone, stroking some of his now red fur. Flora blushed in embarrassment and couldn't find the courage to say a word.

Kowalski was getting steamed, and he stood protectively in front of the brown feathered bird. Boy, was he jealous. He took her silence as a hint that she liked Julien. "We are done with the situation. Now please leave or face the consequences." Kowalski glared.

"Like?" Julien was oblivious to Kowalski's threat.

"Madison!" Sara shouted, so loud that the whole zoo must've heard. In a matter of seconds, a panting Madison came around the corner. She looked exhausted but looked worried for Sara's health. Her worried eyes immediately became confused when she saw the scene in front of her. "We need Julien out of here," Sara whispered to Madison.

Madison cocked her head in confusion, but when she saw Julien trying to flirt with Flora, and Kowalski ready to slap him to Texas, she knew why. She stomped viscously to Julien and, much to his surprise, slapped him across the face. Normally she would have thrown him, but it seemed that slapping him was right thing to do. Still, she wasn't done.

She took his leg and spun him around in the air, smacking him painfully on the ground a couple of times. It was hurting her wound but, like usual, she ignored it. She then did a final spin, before flinging him back to his habitat. She rubbed her flippers together and held an evil glint in her eye. She missed beating up Julien, even if she did consider him a friend now.

"Thanks Madison," Flora sighed in relief with her blush edging away slowly. "And... thanks Kowalski."

Kowalski rubbed the back of his head with a small blush on his feathers. "Well it was nothing," he replied modestly. Flora smiled weakly at him before waddling away with Sara and Madison. Kowalski let out a dreamy sigh when they were out of earshot.

"You really do like her." Private laughed.

Kowalski scowled at him. But it was so true.

* * *

><p><strong>Skipping the rest of the day, because it was basically boring, and none of you want to hear any of that.<strong>

* * *

><p>It was 10:00 at night, which meant lights out. The girls were pretending to sleep, waiting for the guys to surrender to the lust of sleep. The girls waited, and waited and waited. And waited some more. Then they were signaled by the snoring come from the guys. It was officially plan action time.<p>

Amber was the first to move. She jumped out of the second highest bunk and landed on the ground silently. Flora came next, who had the second lowest bunk. She jumped out with a flip and landed on the ground with a soft thump. Sara simply slid out of the bunk and gently tapped her feet to the ground. Madison lazily looked down at the others as they looked up expectantly at her. She slid out and landed with a loud thud on the ground. They all froze, except Madison who slowly blinked her eyes tiredly. It didn't earn much of a reaction, except for Skipper flipping the other direction at the sound.

Amber looked back at Madison and gave her a cold hard glare. Madison raised her flippers up defensively. They all rolled their eyes at her and made it as silently as they could to the ladder. Flora stole a glance at the clock to see it as 11:27. They didn't have much time. She hadn't accounted to when the guys would fall into a deep sleep.

Amber went first, then Flora, then Sara and finally Madison. They looked around cautiously and circled around, checking the area for anyone that could be spying on them. When it looked all clear, they jumped out of the habitat and went for the zoo gates. They all squeezed past the bars and got to the other side. Well almost everyone.

"A little help…" Sara whimpered. They turned around and saw Sara trapped in the bars again, a regular occurrence since she never seemed to lose weight. Madison snickered and tried not to laugh, while Amber and Flora rolled their eyes at the minor complication.

"Madison, help her out," Amber commanded sternly but quietly. Madison complied and started pulling Sara.

"Remember, suck in your stomach," Flora reminded.

Sara was soon ripped out of the bars, and the two penguins tumbled into the others. Normally they would have been laughing but this was a serious business, so that wasn't something the would be doing. They quickly got up and dusted themselves off.

"C'mon, we don't have much time," Amber growled. The three penguins nodded in acknowledgment, and they were once again off for the docks. Sara gave the zoo a longing glance before she slid after her friends.

They slid through the city slowly, due to Madison's injury, and took in the sights. They may have seen it before in day. But never at night. It was breathtaking. The lights dazzled and spread throughout the whole city. Pretty colors flashing on buildings and car lights that would pass by would only add to the cities life. People were walking down the sidewalk but they didn't seem to notice the penguins and if they did, they didn't care. Even around midnight, it was truly the city that never sleeps.

"The lights are amazing," Flora whispered in awe with the lights of the city reflecting in her eyes.

"Too bad we can't look around," Sara murmured mournfully. She was hoping that one day they could visit here again.

"Just keep sliding," Amber hissed. "If we have any delays, we may miss our boat."

The penguins' remained silent for the rest of the time and continued to the docks but in a faster speed.

* * *

><p>Something felt odd to Skipper. Something was nagging at him in his sleep, like something bad was happening. Or something important. And his feeling was right. His gut grumbled loudly in a way to wake him up or alert him of something. He felt it was both.<p>

He opened his eyes and saw the girls bunk across the room, empty. Empty. Why the heck were they empty?

He jumped out of his bunk, not caring if he made a sound or not and approached the girls bunks. He put his flipper on Sara's. It wasn't warm, but it wasn't cold. They must have left not long ago. Skipper looked at the clock. It was 11:38. Skipper quickly got in front of his team and took a large intake of breath and then, "GET UP!" The yell startled them all so bad that they fell on the ground painfully.

"What is it Skippah?" Private moaned and pushed Rico's body off of him.

Skipper pointed to the empty bunks of the girls, and all the guys gasped. "Oh yes, what a shock," he said sarcastically. "Now can someone tell me where they went?"

"We could check the security cameras?" Kowalski suggested from the ground. They all got up when Skipper gained a serious expression. If it could get any more serious.

"Let's roll out men!" Skipper went up the ladder, with the others not far behind.

They quickly got to a nearby lamppost that had a penguin security camera attached to it. They looked at the camera as Kowalski busted it open to review the recent footage. He played it back till it showed the girls came out, circling around with flippers up defensively. With a click, it played out and it also showed them come out of the habitat and going for the gates.

"So they're out of the zoo?" Private asked Kowalski.

"It would appear so," Kowalski grumbled in answer as he closed the video camera back up.

"We're going to do some investigating," Skipper mumbled. He jumped off the lamppost and went for the gates. He was immediately met with feathers, and…blood? "Kowalski, what do you make of this?" Skipper asked, once the three caught up to him.

"Those are Sara's feathers!" Private gasped. Skipper decided to ignore the question 'how does he know it's hers?' for now.

"It appears Sara had lost some feathers coming through here, and the blood I can't really explain. Unless Sara injured herself and started bleeding, or…" Kowalski trailed off as his eyes went wide with realization.

"Wound open," Rico murmured worriedly, implying Madison.

"Follow that trail." Skipper went through the bars, with his team following. They followed the faint trail of blood that went through the city.

* * *

><p>The female penguins were currently waddling around multiple crates, preparing for their leave. A little longer and they would be on the boat and set their plans into action to get back home. Just hijack the ship, then set course for home. They would do what they could to help their families. Dead or not, they were going to help the colony site.<p>

"Are we on time?" Amber asked Flora.

"My scientific guess is yes, but we might want to hurry up just in case," Flora responded solemnly.

They sped up ever so slightly and waddled in silence for a small period of time. Amber began to feel an uncomfortable on her back. "Ever get the feeling that someone is watching your every move?"

"I've had it before," a voice answered. The female penguins froze and slowly turned around. In front of them stood Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico.

"How did you-" Amber started.

"Madison was bleeding," Private answered with a trace of concern in his voice and eyes. Rico nodded, also concerned.

Everybody looked at her wound and, just like they said, she was bleeding. Not badly, just a tiny rip of a stitch or two. Not as bad as they had thought it was. Madison let out a loud groan of annoyance that this was the burden she had to carry for a while.

"So you were just going to leave?" Skipper growled accusingly, changing the subject. He already had a good idea on what they had planned on doing. Amber was homesick and recently the girls have been detached. You don't need to be a genius to put two and two together.

"Yes," Amber answered, straight forward. Skipper glared at her, which she returned. Something inside both of them shattered with all the respect and fondness for each other disappear.

"You weren't even going to tell us?" Private whimpered.

"We-" Sara started, but Amber shot her a glare, yet she continued. "I… I wanted to tell you."

"Me too," Flora murmured. She looked at Kowalski. He looked shattered.

"Is that why you…you know?" Kowalski asked Flora. She nodded sadly, with a bitter-sweet smile on her beak. At least he knew why and wouldn't have to worry about her. Much as least. Antarctica still had its dangers.

She quickly went up to him and, to everyone's surprise, planted a quick kiss on his cheek. He blushed and rubbed the spot with care. Flora took the daisy flower on her head and placed it in Kowalski's flippers like she had seen in movies. Though this time it was altered. Flora would never give up her flower. Then again, it probably wouldn't survive the conditions of Antarctica. Before she turned away, Kowalski kissed her cheek also, and she went waddling back to the other girls blushing. At least he'd have something to remember Flora by.

"We better leave, or we're going to be late," Amber told her girls and tried to ignore what just happened. It wasn't worth the trouble since they were leaving. They all put their heads down in depression, except for Amber, who stubbornly turned her head away.

"Wait, Sara!" Private shouted before they went away.

"Yes Private?" Sara looked around hopefully. Private ran over toward her and rammed his beak against hers.

It was so unexpected, but Sara didn't hesitate to kiss back. Flora let out a 'aw' while Madison looked sick, yet confused. Amber was dumbfounded. She was speechless. Should she stop it? Part of her said, no, but the other part said yes. Before she could make up her mind, Private broke away.

"I really like you Sara," he murmured to her.

She giggled like a school girl and blushed. "I really like you too, Private," she whispered quietly so no one else would hear but Private himself. The young male bird blushed underneath his feathers at those words.

Amber finally snapped out of it and was just able to hold back her anger. "Sara, we're leaving. _Now,_" she hissed.

Sara's wide smile turned into the most heartbreaking frown in the universe. "Oh." She turned away. "Bye Private." Sara waved her flipper in a goodbye before waddling next to Amber and Flora.

"Lets go, before we miss our boat," Amber ordered, angered by the distractions. "I mean it this time."

They slid away, leaving the guys there without much of a goodbye. They stood there sadly. Even Skipper, who had tried to look angry. But he wasn't. The girls were just as depressed. Madison, however, was sad and confused. She felt like she had unfinished business. She abruptly stopped and got up from her belly slide and looked at the guys, confusion written all over her face.

The male penguins stared at her in curiosity but sadness. They were even more confused when she started sliding toward them but more specifically, Rico, with purpose.

Amber took notice that Madison wasn't there and came to an annoyed abrupt stop. Flora and Sara didn't long to notice that also and followed suit. They turned around and saw Madison sliding to Rico with a small amount of blood trailing behind her from her wound.

She slid to a stop right in front of Rico and looked him over with a confused expression. Rico looked back at her carefully, equally confused. She finally looked at him in the eyes that held something fiery, and he tried to give her his best smile. She gave a small one back, but it was immediately changed into an expression of determination.

_Determination for what? _Rico thought.

He was soon answered when Madison flung herself at him and smashed her beak against his. Hard. Rico stood there wide eyed as he saw her kissing him. He soon realized the situation and let out a moan of approval. Much to her surprise, he kissed back, and wrapped a single flipper around her waist. Madison wrapped her flippers around his neck, and he made his other flipper go on the back of her head, for a deeper and more passionate kiss. They pressed their bodies together as much as they could go, ignoring the blood going all over their chests.

Madison finally figured out one of her feelings. She felt love toward Rico. That was what it was all along. She had missed so much love and affection in her life that she almost lost her last spark. From the second she saw him, there was something she felt that she never understood. She may not be a mushy romantic but neither was Rico. He understood her, and she understood him in a way they couldn't explain. And that's all that mattered.

Amber didn't have the heart to break this up. She wasn't that cruel in her nature. Madison had gone through enough pain in her life without love or anyone really caring, just like she did. Well she had love, but it had all been fake, but this was real. There was no way she was going to break this up. It was too important to Madison.

After a while, the two broke away and, to Rico's dismay, she pulled away from his embrace and went back to the girls with bitter-sweet happiness. Rico was left with his beak parted slightly, flippers outstretched like he was hugging air, with some of Madison's blood on his chest. He had found real love, something that wasn't a doll, and now it was going to sail away. Literally.

"Let's…uh…go, before we miss our boat," Amber said in awkwardly. The girls nodded slowly, waved goodbye and slid off for the final time.

Rico felt torn. Private felt torn. Kowalski felt torn. And Skipper felt torn also. The girls were leaving. They couldn't stop them. They wouldn't. They were out of their grasp now. No matter what they said or did, they wouldn't stay. It would only make it worse, more painful.

Amber and the girls quickly slid to the ship. It let off its horn in a signal about it being ready to leave port. Amber was freaking out by this point that they would miss the boat and jumped over the last crate standing in their way.

"Go, go, go!" Amber hollered. Sara, Flora and Madison reluctantly jumped on the rising anchor. Amber followed in suit, and they were soon in a large ship in the cargo hold.

"I never believed you would do something like that," Sara murmured to Madison. Instead of a snarl she expected to hear. It was a simple sniff, and nod from Madison. Maybe kissing Rico was a mistake. But it was the best moment of her life. Sara patted her back comfortingly.

"So...we're going home," Flora stated blankly.

"Yup," Amber sighed.

"It doesn't feel right, does it?" Sara questioned.

"No. No it doesn't," Amber replied, which surprised the three females. Amber sighed sadly when the ship took off from port, leaving four heartbroken penguins' back at New York and four sad penguins' on the very ship.

* * *

><p><strong>Long chapter for me but I've had longer, I think. There's still more (Probably saw that coming anyway). In fact, this is only the beginning! This story will end soon but there will be more! Oh yes, there will be more. Amazing and I also used bad grammar, but I don't care! I feel happy right now, but seriously, everything will be answered. Soon. Muhahahahaa!<strong>

**Flora: Creepy warning.**

**Private: She's scary!**

**Me: I like it when I'm scary.**

**Skipper: Are you gothic?**

**Me: No.**

**Maurice: Tomboy?**

**Me: Yes, now how did lemurs get in here?**

**Julien: We got past security with my robust dancing skills!**

**Me: You don't even know what robust means!**

**Flora: Before anyone gets smacked into a wall, Kowalski has something to say…**

**Kowalski: Yes, thank you Flora. Now… *coughs into flipper* REVIEW!**

***Everyone stares wide eyed at him***

**Kowalski: What? It helps to shout things.**


	25. Going Home

**So the girls are on the boat and the guys are back in NY. This is a little different then what I usually do. And no hitting me with a stick! It'd hurt, virtual stick or real stick. ****In retrospect it probably would have been good to end the story from the last chapter. Oh well...too late now.**

* * *

><p>They had just got out of the cargo hold and had set up their little hideout there. They made sure it had a view of the door to the room so they could escape when the situation came up. Flora had taken the time to stitch up Madison and wrap fresh bandages on her to stop the bleeding that made her feel faint. Currently, the girls were stealthily going down a hallway to the command center of the ship to redo the coordinates for their plan.<p>

"Doesn't this suck?" Sara whispered to Flora, who bent down so they could have a conversation. She didn't want Amber to hear. They were in the back with Amber taking point and Madison behind her. Even though she was upset, Madison was as alert as ever.

"Yes but I suppose that it's best that we left," Flora whispered back with remorse far too noticeable in her voice to tell it was a lie. Her eyes also betrayed her regret that encouraged Sara to go on with the faint argument.

"How? Look at Madison." Sara pointed to the female penguin. "She looks so upset."

"She always acting like this," Flora sighed.

"Yes, I know, but can't you just feel the sad essence around her?" Sara asked and gestured to Madison again.

"You can't feel essence and, even if you could, it doesn't really exist," Flora told her bluntly with a bored expression when she went back to her full height, where it was comfortable.

"Why don't you believe in magical things?" Sara inquired with hurt in her eyes.

Flora explained, "Because they're make believe. Childish fair tales." She was showing no regret in crushing Sara's dreams.

"They're not childish, and they're not fair tales!" Sara protested.

"And Private thinks there is a little gnome in the fridge that turns the lights on, and off." Flora rolled her eyes.

The little bird shouted angrily, "Don't bring Private into this!"

"Will you girls be quiet!" Amber snarled. "Someone might hear you two." The chatting penguins remained silent after that. "Flora, where is the control room?" Amber asked after a while. You had to know where your target was before real action took place.

"Um…" Flora tapped her beak thoughtfully. "I believe it's up ahead."

"Double time then," Amber ordered when she pointed to ahead of them. The others complied, and they started sliding on their bellies down the corridor with ease, mostly because of the recently cleaned floors.

"I believe that's the room," Flora announced as she matched Amber's speed.

"Alright, we're going to do this as delicately and stealthy as possible," Amber told them. They nodded in understanding. "Perfect." She smirked like the devil itself.

* * *

><p>The captain of the ship was looking at the map so he could type in the coordinates to Antarctica. He was old looking, but he still had a youthful strength. He wore the classic blue vest, white jeans and a captain's hat to mark his authority. His skin was palish with hints of wrinkles. He had a large white parka nearby for when they reached Antarctica.<p>

"Found the coordinates yet?" his assistant asked.

He shook his head. "Nah. These old eyes of mine are making it difficult. Maybe I should retire," the captain sighed.

"You should only retire when you don't have a breath left in you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," the Captain grumbled. The two men turned toward the door when they heard a razor sound coming from it. "What the-" the captain started.

The door completely fell over and in the doorway stood a crazed penguin with a chainsaw. It wore a red baseball cap backwards on its head and, just by looking at it, you could see pain, anger and an excited look in its eyes.

"Why is that penguin wearing a baseball hat?" the assistant asked.

"Is that what you're questioning? I would wonder why it has a chainsaw!" The Captain pointed to the penguin as it made it towards them threateningly. Just when the two people thought it couldn't get any worse, or crazy, three more penguins jumped into the room.

"What is wrong with these flightless birds?" the assistant screamed. Oh he shouldn't have done that.

* * *

><p>"Flightless?" Amber started angrily. "Flightless? Flightless! You're calling us flightless pal? You can't fly either, so shut your trap! ATTACK!" Amber ordered with fiery rage. Sara went for the assistant while Amber went for the captain. Flora and Madison jumped to where the map was to find the proper coordinates.<p>

Amber swiftly knocked out the captain with a whack on the back of his head. The assistant soon fell down on the ground, joining his captain.

"Nice hit," Amber praised.

"Thanks Amber." Sara smiled slightly at the praise.

"Now what do they have against penguins?" Amber asked Sara as they joined Flora and Madison at the map.

"Well we just-" Sara started, but Amber cut her off by saying, "Rhetorical question Sara."

"Right..." Sara muttered and slumped.

"Alright I got it!" Flora jumped off the map and went to the coordinate computer. "Alright let's see now. North-east penguin colony," Flora muttered to herself. She tapped in multiple numbers on the keyboard and, for a moment, she considered about changing course back to New York. She stopped typing for a second to consider it.

She would for sure get in trouble with Amber, and it wouldn't help anyone back home. If they were alive. She shuddered at a realization. Were they even alive? Months away with barely any source of food they couldn't get on their own. Their chance of their survival was very slim. It was doubtful that they had figured out how to fish out of their fear but it was still possible. That settled it. She had to go home and find out for herself. She started typing once more and pressed 'Enter' on the keyboard. The computer flashed the words 'OVERRIDE'. Flora jumped down and informed Amber of her success.

"Excellent. Now, I think we should do something about these two." Amber gestured two the unconscious men.

"Agreed," Flora responded, looking troubled. Madison raised her chainsaw with an evil glint in her eye.

Amber growled, "No murder on this mission." She scowled at the mute bird. Madison lowered the chainsaw with a dull, blank look on her face.

Sara and Flora stared at her, horrified. "You were thinking of murder?" Sara exclaimed. Madison shrugged and wandered off with a chainsaw being dragged off with her.

"Any ideas?" Amber asked the remaining females.

"How about we take these guys to the workman's lounge place? They'll think they got drunk or something," Flora suggested. Amber smiled in approval and nodded for them to do so.

Flora grunted as she pulled the assistant with Sara's help. Amber took the captain and easily dragged him out of the room with her strength.

"Show off!" Sara laughed lightly. Flora, Sara, and Amber took the men to the lounge room and set them up on chairs. And, just for good measure, they put empty bear glasses around, even putting one in the captain's hand to be all the more convincing.

"Perfecto." Amber smiled in approval. "Go to the cargo hold and do what you want as long as you're quiet," she told them sternly. "I'm going to have a look around this puppy."

Before Sara and Flora could say anything or object, she ran out of the room and they were left alone.

"We might as well go now, before these people wake up," Flora suggested. Sara nodded nervously in agreement. The two penguins jumped off the table they were on and exited the room. They waddled down the corridor until they found the door leading to the cargo hold. They jumped into the room and were greeted with boxes and crates.

Madison was laying on her back, on a box, with her head hanging upside down, staring at the door. She gave a small smile to them and waved slightly, the chainsaw out of sight. Flora and Sara returned the smile and came over toward her.

"I miss the guys already," Sara admitted sadly. Flora and Sara settled down next to Madison and leaned on the staked crates.

"You're not the only one," Flora muttered. Madison nodded her head in an awkward looking way. She got up and sat next to Flora on her right. Sara got up from Flora's left and waddled to Madison. She whispered something to her that Flora couldn't hear. Madison offered a smirk and pulled out her recorder with a look of smugness.

Flora cocked a brow when Madison began flipping through her many tracks. She gave Flora a sly smile as she pressed the button to a familiar song. Flora grinned, knowing where she and Sara were going with the music.

Flora cleared her throat and began to sing. Her voice was somewhat angelic, one that usually worked with sad or love songs. But she also had a knack for more traditional and tribal songs as well. "_Grew up in a small town a__nd when the rain would fall down __I'd just stare out my window..."_ she sung with a haze of sadness in her eyes. "_Dreaming of what could be a__nd if I'd end up happy...__I would pray..." _

"_I would pray..."_ Sara drawled out quietly .

_"Trying hard to reach out b__ut when I tried to speak out..." _Flora shook her head and Sara swayed with her when they sang, "f_elt like no one could hear me..."_

_"Wanted to belong here." _Flora made a gesture that made Madison think she was talking about Antarctica. "_But something felt so wrong here, s__o I prayed..."_

"_I would pray," _Sara sang quietly and swiveled her head when she heard a noise coming from the door to the cargo hold.

"_I could break away..."_ Flora sang just as quiet.

Amber walked in, having heard the music and, too everyone's surprise, started singing by herself.

_"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly!" _Amber's voice came loudly into their hearing with a voice that seemed to be trained and experienced for singing. "_I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky!" _She smirked at them when she flipped onto the crate they were on. "_And I'll make a wish, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway! __Out of the darkness and into the sun!" _The look Amber gave them when she sung, "_But I won't forget all the ones that I love!" _seemed to have told them a story. _"I'll take a risk, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway..."_

Flora's gaping beak slowly closed and formed a confident smile from the idea that Amber understood what they were going through more then they had thought. _"Wanna feel the warm breeze, s__leep under a palm tree," _the brown feathered penguin sang.

_"Feel the rush of the ocean_," the three drawled out together. _"Get onboard a fast train, __travel on a jet plane, far away..." _

"_I will break..." _Sara sang.

_"And breakaway..." _Amber and Flora sang in harmony. Madison smiled faintly at them. They sang really well together. If only she could join them. Madison's smile went a little bigger when Sara joined in.

"_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly__!"_ they sang loudly together as they got the right key and were in perfect sync with each other and the music that came from Madison's recorder. "_I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky! __And I'll make a wish, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway!"_

Flora's eyes glistened from tears that threatened to possibly come down at the thought of Kowalski but that didn't stop her from singing with her friends. _"Out of the darkness and into the sun, b__ut I won't forget all the ones that I love..."_ No one could stop the thoughts of the penguins that had allowed them to stay in their home.

Gratefulness came into their souls that gave their singing more gusto. "_Gotta take a risk, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway."_

"_Buildings with a hundred floors s__winging around revolving doors," _Amber sung, reminding her of Las Vegas. "_Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but g__otta keep moving on, moving on."_

Sara's eyes flashed with some renewed happiness. "_Fly away, breakaway!" _

_"I'll spread my wings a__nd I'll learn how to fly!" _They're voices brought passion to the music which made Madison appear mesmerized. _"Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye!"_

_"I gotta take a risk, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway!" _Amber's voice brought a new thing to the music, her own flavor suited the song better then most would expect.

_"Out of the darkness and into the sun!"_ The three gestured to above them, eyes shining and all. "_But I won't forget the place I come from. __I gotta take a risk, t__ake a chance, m__ake a change a__nd breakaway, breakaway, breakaway…" _They concluded as they drawled at the words slowly, with their emotions put in every word.

Madison clapped vigorously. She had a little smirk on her face as her friends smiled back at her applauding. Amber, Flora and Sara took an amused bow.

"You two are really good!" Sara complimented; Madison nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Amber and Flora chorused.

The female penguins' then sat down in silence.

Flora decided to ask a question that was prodding her brain. "Amber," she began hesitantly. "Do you think they're even alive?" Flora asked, implying the penguins' at their old colony.

Amber narrowed her eyes at the intellectual. "What makes you ask that?" she responded.

"It's just that…we've been gone for months now. Don't you think that they would have died from… you know…" Flora trailed off.

"Starvation?" Sara finished for Flora, with worry making her voice quiver.

Amber closed her eyes and took a large intake of air. After a moment, she opened her eyes back up. "Yes," she answered simply.

Flora's eyes grew from their usual size. "Do you think they're dead?" she blurted. Madison growled at her for even thinking that, Sara gave a whimper at the thought, and Amber glared at her. It wasn't something she should have said.

"I doubt they're dead," Amber denied.

"But-" Flora tried to argue but was cut off.

"No buts. They're not dead. Case closed."

Flora sighed, "Alright." She rolled her eyes in their sockets.

"How do you think the guys are doing?" Sara asked thoughtfully, staring up at the ceiling.

"We just left them, I'm sure they're fine," Amber grumbled. "Just get some sleep. It's late."

"Goodnight Amber," Flora and Sara mumbled. Madison just grunted, and they all closed their eyes for sleep. All except Amber, who kept a wary eye on the door to the cargo room. _I hope they're all safe. The colony...and the guys._

* * *

><p><strong>The song is Breakaway from Kelly Clarkson. A short chapter for my standards. I hope you like my story so far. I appreciate the reviews, even if it has a little bit of criticism in it. But don't whack me with anything! <strong>

**Skipper: You should.**

**Amber: It might knock some sense into her.**

**Me: I got sense, and I know what I'm doing. I can make everyone get eaten by leopard seals!**

**Kowalski: *Screams like a little girl***

**Me: That's priceless every time...Ok review and please send virtual chocolate!**


	26. Things Missing

**Thanks again for the reviews and the virtual chocolate! It's good stuff. Chocolate and reviews are good. Most of the time.**

* * *

><p>Its been around four days that they've been on a ship out at sea, set out for Antarctica. The girls were purposely starving themselves so they could bring fish back to their colony, and too also get used to what they would have to endure. Hunger.<p>

"Guess what?" Flora ran into the cargo hold, excited. She woke up Amber, Sara and Madison in the process.

"What?" Amber asked, groggy.

"The ship is docking today!" Flora exclaimed.

Amber shot over toward her in a flash "Really?" she asked with a faint trace of hopefulness, prepared to punish her if this was a trick.

"Would I even joke about something like this?" Flora put her flippers on her hips. "No, I don't think so," she said, answering her own question. It was obviously rhetorical, in her mind at least.

"So when will we reach Antarctica?" Sara asked.

Flora whipped out the clipboard and pencil she had took on the trip. "In approximately…" she trailed off as she did some calculations on the board. The ship took a large jerking stop that made all the penguins tumble onto the ground. "Right now," she finished.

"Sara you get our things," Amber ordered briskly. "Madison, make sure that no evidence of our stay is here."

Madison and Sara saluted their leader. Madison went for a nearby sack and pulled out a flamethrower. She began to burn fish parts and other things that might tell the crew that there were stowaways on their ship. The smell they couldn't do much about but it would probably go unnoticed. Sara brought all of their stuff out in a sack and handed it to Amber obediently.

"Got it all, ma'am." Sara smiled and saluted.

"Great. Madison catch!" Amber tossed the sack to Madison for her to carry. Madison caught it easily and put the flamethrower inside it. Amber took the large crate that had the other things that they had found a necessity. "Let's move," Amber grunted. She started to push, with some help of her girls, and made gradual progress. They were stronger then they looked.

They pushed their things around the ship and were able to avoid virtually everybody until they passed into a corridor. They froze as they saw the captain. He froze as he saw the penguins. They didn't even move; he didn't move. There had been many times when he had seen them but now they couldn't hide. It went like that for a few moments before the captain shook his head furiously.

"I got to lay off those drinks. Every time I see penguins!" he muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway once more, ignoring the flightless birds.

The penguins' looked at each other and shrugged. With that, they started to go down the hallway once more. It didn't take long for them to find an exit, and they were on the deck of the ship. Madison tossed the sack she had on top of the crate and started helping Amber to push the crate. The wood screeched against the metal, and it was a mystery to how they crew didn't hear it. Lazy crew. They pushed the crate to the edge of the vessel, with Flora and Sara trailing behind.

"We're going down," Amber growled as she threw the box overboard onto ice with her surprising strength. "Jump!" she ordered. Flora and Madison jumped down on command, but Sara was shivering in fear, hesitating.

"I don't think I can get down," Sara whimpered. "Can you help me?"

"Way ahead of you on that one!" Amber pushed Sara off the ship. Sara shrieked in shock as she fell. Flora was down there and caught her in her outstretched flippers but fell on her back in the process. Amber jumped down and joined the others near the crate.

Sara frowned as she and Flora got up. "That wasn't funny Amber."

"But it sure was for Madison!" Amber laughed.

Sara looked over and saw Madison doubled over laughing. "At least she seems happy right now," she whispered to the silver bird.

"Yup. Makes you glad that I did that." Amber winked at her.

"No, not really." Sara glared.

Amber waved her off dismissively. "Let's start moving," she ordered. She had already started pushing the crate. Madison joined her shortly.

"How do you think the guys are doing?" Sara asked Flora.

Flora shrugged. She had no clue, but she wished she did.

* * *

><p>"Alright boys, get up," Skipper ordered. They have all been upset since the girls left, but Skipper was going to stop this, today. It hadn't affected how they operated, but it did affect their morale. Even Marlene gave up on trying to cheer them up.<p>

"What are we doing Skippah?" Private asked unenthusiastically.

"We are going to have some fun around here," Skipper answered with his confident smirk. He had already planned the day's events. Part of it involved game and movie night.

"But Skippah, it feels so empty around here," Private protested.

It's true. It did feel empty without them. No longer was there Amber playing chess or checkers or asking for aspirin. No exploding inventions from Flora, random flower arrangements or an unneeded lecture. No happy conversations and gossip from Sara. Not even music or fights for the remote from Madison.

"We lived with it before, we can do it again," Skipper reasoned.

Private sighed reluctantly, "I guess so Skippah."

"What are we going to be doing?" Kowalski asked, just then getting up with Rico.

"We are going to have a movie and game night!" Skipper exclaimed. They all brightened a little at the idea.

"I'll get the popcorn!" Private exclaimed, suddenly cheerful.

"I'll get some candy!" Kowalski ran off to find some candy.

Rico hollered enthusiastically, "Soda!"

Skipper grinned. It was getting better already. It was still depressing though. It just felt like something was missing. But they all knew what it was. The girls.

* * *

><p>"How much longer?" Amber asked Flora as she and Madison continued to push the crate over a large hill of snow.<p>

"Once we get over the hill, maybe a yard or two," Flora answered. The second in command looked at the struggling silent penguin. "Madison you shouldn't be doing this. It'll only stress your wound, and I'll half to redo the stitches again!"

Madison growled in response.

"Aw c'mon, you got to stop pushing this crate!"

Madison snorted and continued pushing.

"Fine, be that way. I'm sorry I had to do this…" Flora looked through the sack she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a small tranquilizer that she had brought for this sort of situation. She had stolen it from doctor, and it wasn't like he would need it right?

* * *

><p>"Where is the tranquilizer?" the doctor yelled.<p>

"We're all out!" a nurse called out from behind a door.

"What?" the doctor yelped. "Hey don't bite that!"

A certain lemur was 'attacking' the doctor. "Where is my lollypop? I demand the yummy lollypop!" Julien shouted and continued to search the doctor for one that wasn't going to appear. "The king needs his sweety sweets."

"Where is the tranquilizer? This is almost as bad as those penguins!"

* * *

><p>"Where'd you get that?" Sara asked Flora.<p>

"From a doctor, now be quiet." Flora took the dart and tried to aim it at Madison in the most vital and effective points. Flora thought for a moment. Sara has really good aim and _never_ missed a target. It seemed like a logical choice to have her throw it instead. If they got too close to Madison with the dart, she would either run or attack them so she had to throw and Sara was a guaranteed hit. "Here. You do it instead." Flora gave the dart to Sara.

Sara took reluctant aim and threw it at the generally mute bird at the back of her neck. She stopped pushing immediately, and her whole body shivered before she face planted in the snow from the heavy drugs.

"That's going to hurt in the morning," Sara said guiltily.

"What happened to her?" Amber asked in frustration.

"Classic tranquilizer," Flora answered. "She can't be doing physical things in her condition."

"Well that's fine and dandy, but you better start hauling her around. I'm certainly not going to do it." With that Amber started pushing the crate again.

"I forgot to think about that," Flora groaned and slapped her forehead. She waddled reluctantly to the unmoving form of Madison. "Seriously, the girl weighs a ton!"

"Sara, get your flippers over here," Amber ordered, ignoring Flora's comment. Sara sighed but went over to help Amber with the crate. Flora grunted painfully when she slung Madison on her shoulders. "Just a little longer girls," Amber growled, step by step going up the ice hill that she loathed at this point in time. And it wasn't much longer. In a matter of minutes they were on top of the hill. Just like Flora said, the colony was around a yard away.

"Can we take a fun way down?" Sara asked.

"What's the fun way down?" Flora asked curiously.

"This!" Sara squealed. Before Amber or Flora knew what was happening, she started tumbling down the hill with laughs.

"That is definitely the fun way down." Amber smirked. "Hand Madison to me and you can join Sara down there."

Flora happily complied and handed their mute companion over but, just as she did, Madison began to stir. She let out a confused grunt and looked around furiously when she realized what happened. Her furious gaze rested on Flora. She narrowed her eyes, and let out a threatening growl.

"No hard feelings right Madison?" Flora was shaking in fear. Madison got up, and started to stomp over to her. "You know it was for your own good!"

Madison shook her head in disagreement and tackled Flora. They both let out yelps of surprise as they started tumbling down the hill together, a tangle of flippers.

"Where do I find these penguins?" Amber shook her head. "Honestly, if I had a fish for every time…" she muttered under her breath. She pushed the crate down, and latched herself onto it. So it wouldn't get damaged or flip around, she dug the heels of her feet into the snow to slow it down. She came down slowly and was greeted with the sight of Madison chasing Flora around, with Sara chasing after them to get her to stop.

"Alright stop it!" Amber barked and leaned against the side of the crate with one flipper supporting her.

Her team stopped immediately but the results weren't good. Flora screeched to a stop, making Madison smack right into her. Sara ran into the two penguins, and they tumbled across the ice until they landed right in front of Amber's feet. They all looked up sheepishly at their leader. She had her flippers on her hips now, a raised brow and held a disapproving glare. The three embarrassed girls jumped back up and looked at each other nervously.

"So, how about we head back to the colony right now?" Flora suggested eagerly.

"I think that'd be a good idea," Sara added.

Amber rolled her eyes but decided to let there childish acts slide. "Go on ahead team," she ordered. The three girls let out sighs of relief, glad to know they weren't going to be punished for their immaturity. "Except you Madison." Madison froze, and her eyes went wide with surprise and fear that she was in trouble. "You get on top of here." Amber patted the crate. "I don't want a penguin down on this mission."

Madison crossed her flippers over her chest stubbornly, but held a thoughtful expression. She didn't want to sit around and do nothing. Amber's glare changed her mind though. She grunted in defeat and jumped on top of the crate. She flopped down on her back and watched the cloudy gray sky that usually blocked their view of the stars they longed for.

Amber started pushing the crate, along with Sara. Flora was taking point and calculating every step. They got closer and closer and that's when Sara stopped pushing. Amber suspected that she was having deep thoughts run through her mind. She started waddling next to Amber to talk while her leader continued to push to her strengths extent.

"What if our families don't want to see us? Or anyone?" Sara asked worriedly to Amber. She risked a glance at Flora. "What if Flora's sisters don't want to see her?" she whispered, so the intellectual couldn't hear her.

"I know her sisters don't exactly like her, but I'm sure they'll be glad to know she's alright," Amber responded, just as quiet. Madison, who had listened in on the conversation, raised a curious brow. She never knew Flora's sisters didn't like her. Must be something pretty bad. Flora was very likeable. At least, according to everyone.

"Can I go up ahead?" Sara asked hopefully.

Amber shrugged. "Sure."

Sara grinned cheerfully and started to slide to the colony that was around half a yard away.

"May I accompany Sara?" Flora asked Amber. The silver avian nodded in response and grunted as she pushed the crate even harder to keep a better pace. Flora smiled widely and went after Sara. Madison flipped over and looked over the edge of the crate so she could look at Amber. She grunted and raised a curious brow at her for attention.

"What?" Amber asked gruffly. Madison rolled her eyes and gestured to where Flora and Sara went. "You want to know why they went over there?" Amber guessed without much though. Madison scowled, shook her head and pointed again. "You wonder if there is any yellow snow?" Madison rolled her eyes at that one. She glared fiercely and pointed a final time. "You're curious if the penguins at the colony are alive?" Amber guessed once more. Madison smiled and nodded. "I'm positive they're alive," Amber told her confidently. Madison looked doubtful, but she only shrugged.

Amber pushed for another minute or so before finally coming to a stop. She poked her head around, and what she saw surprised her.

She expected penguins to be running around, or yelling about their arrival. To see life, and penguins with fish, or any food they could scrap up. Maybe even the elders, and their family's coming out of the little igloo homes to greet them. Even so, she had been ready for disappointment. To see all the penguins had died of starvation or something. No. It wasn't that at all. It was the complete opposite and more.

It was ransacked. Igloos destroyed and torn down, leaving the blocks of ice everywhere into little shards. Blood replaced the snowy white ground. Not a single scrap of little machines Flora had made or her chemicals. Their igloo HQ they had shared for years was gone, along with homes for the other penguins. The storage area where they put all their food was completely gone too. Worst of all. There were no penguins what-so-ever. Not even dead ones. It was empty, except for the four girls that stood there, shocked.

"What happened?" Amber whispered. Predators...they must have killed her family.

"They're just-" Sara began.

"Gone," Flora finished for her.

Amber gaped, struggling to hold back a sudden urge to sob. They were gone. She was too late. They were all too late. They never stood a chance.

* * *

><p><strong>Man, I felt a little upset typing up that last part. So I suppose all the penguins are gone. The girls are sad, shocked and apparently there isn't much they can do. Or is there? I dunno maybe there is, maybe there isn't.<strong>

**Flora: Do you even know what you're doing?**

**Me: Yes. I have complete utter confidence in what I'm doing.**

**Skipper: You sure about that?**

**Me: Yes! Don't go hating on me. Anyway…please review and give me your opinions on there little situation.**


	27. Old Story's

Amber was utterly shocked. She couldn't process this right. It had to be a lie. Some kind of sick joke. A very sick joke. They were all here, she was just dreaming. That's what it had to be, a dream. It was all some kind of sick nightmare her mind fantasized.

She was just lying to herself. She knew she wasn't dreaming. It was clear but it was so unbelievable! What had really happened? Attack of the seals and they got eaten, or they became their half-dead play things? Humans having hunger for new displays or their other sick games? The only thing Amber wanted to know was what had really happened to them?

* * *

><p><strong>Flora's POV<strong>

This was crazy. I had slid over here with Sara, and we had immediately found blood and smashed igloos. So many possibilities to lead to these outcomes. One fact was obvious though. It wasn't an ordinary death. They've been murdered, slaughtered and now all that's left of them is their blood. Ew…blood. I know I'm use to it, being a bit like a medic and all, but it's horrible to know that this could be our family's blood.

I waddled to the remains of our old HQ. It was nothing more then shattered blocks of ice. There was not a single sign of my inventions or chemicals in the wreck. At this point, I think that it's the most believable thing right now, loosing my chemicals and all. But our destroyed home left a pain on my heart. We had lots of good times here. Even if we did get on each others nerves.

**(Flashback, Flora's POV)**

_"Where is it?" I asked Madison angrily. Madison, who was laying down, looked at me blankly. "I know you know where it is," I hissed. She smirked and pointed to Sara. Scowling and waddled to the young bird. "Where is it?" I demanded. She looked up me with big round eyes. I could see the glint of guilt in them in their depths. Eyes never lied._

_"What do you mean?" Sara tried to say as innocently as possible._

_"Where. Is. My. Candy?" I asked slowly but with purpose._

_"It's in a safe place…" she answered weakly. _

_I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Where?" I asked. _

_"Um…" Sara quickly glanced at her stomach. _

_"You didn't," I murmured dramatically, straightening my spine._

_"Oh but she did," Amber said from across the room. She was looking through some of her old enemy files. "Ugh, why are most of my enemy's wolves?"_

_"Maybe they don't like you?" I suggested. _

_"Yeah, yeah," Amber grumbled and waved me off like she hadn't heard a word. "Don't trust those things." _

_I turned back too Sara, and glared at her again. "Why did you eat them?"_

_"I couldn't help it! There's never any candy here!" Sara confessed._

_I turned around when I felt something tap my shoulder. I saw Madison smiling slightly, holding out a bag of my candy. I took it like it was the last thing on earth. "How did you get this?" I asked suspiciously. She didn't give a single hint of how she got it but just turned around and went back to where she was resting earlier._

_"Honestly, you all should just stop keeping secrets from each other," Amber mumbled as she continued to look through her old enemy files._

_My response was driven by my frustration. "You're keeping secrets also," I shot back._

_She glanced at me and turned back to the dusty folders. "Touché."_

**(End of Flashback)**

Good times. We always seemed to be able to forgive each other. I glanced around and frowned deeply when I saw Amber standing there as if she got frozen in time. It's terrible to see her like that. She never has acted nor done this before. My guess is that she believes it's all the humans fault. Either way, it's not completely their fault if they did it or not.

From the damage done and from my calculations, this had happened the day we left. Surprising, yes. It's like some kind of set up. Like they wanted us to leave so they could get slaughtered. I looked at the ground in depression of what has happened over the week.

I raised a brow in curiosity when I noticed some weird skin that had been crushed under one of the ice blocks. I took the organic material out from the ice and examined it. It wasn't penguin skin or flesh that was for sure. It didn't look like human skin or seal skin either. It was rather…blue, perhaps gray? Even if a human was to have frost bite, it was impossible to get it to this shade. I had no idea what this was. I would have to examine it more closely later.

* * *

><p><strong>Sara's POV<strong>

This was awful! A complete mess! How could everyone just vanish in some slaughter attack? Shouldn't there be bodies here then? It wasn't right. It was completely terrible. Who would do something like this? I know that a bunch of bad things have happened here but this was the worse by far! I remember the time when seals came to attack me and Madison…

**(Flashback, Sara's POV)**

_"Madison please stop!" I whined. Madison was bored. That was never good. She was holding a fish out into the water where a bunch of leopard seals have their lunch, which was penguins', fish, squid and more. She was basically asking to be eaten, just standing there holding a fish. Madison wiggled the fish a little more to get the attention of potential predators. "This is a bad idea," I said worriedly. "Let's get back to the colony before we get eaten!"_

_Madison looked at me and frowned. She shook her head, and I froze when she dipped her foot into the icy cold water._

_"Madison no!" I screeched. _

_It was too late. A large seal jumped out, and landed on the ice. It would have landed on Madison if she hadn't moved out of the way in time. She offered an excited smile and threw the fish behind her, forgotten. I squeaked in fear when the seal noticed me and stared at me hungrily. Amber said the seals would always go for the fattest. I immediately felt offended and angry. I was not fat or chubby!_

_"Food," it rumbled._

_"What are you looking at blubber face?" I shouted. Madison smiled at me._

_The seal looked angered at my choice of words. "Who are you calling blubber face?" the seal growled. Its voice sent shivers down my spine. The voice sounded deep and mangled. It sounded like he had gargled nails every morning._

_"Y-y-you, b-blubber f-face," I stuttered, my brief confidence gone. Madison frowned at me in disapproval and turned back to the seal in a fighting stance._

_"Hey boys we got a buffet for us!" the seal shouted. _

_I cocked my head in confusion, with Madison doing the same. I was shocked when three seals jumped up from the water and were behind the seal like a small army. Madison took a step back, but she kept her determined stance. A seal made its way to me, and I could only watch in horror. Madison ran over and knocked me away. In turn, Madison was thrown across the ice by the seal._

_"Madison!" I yelped. _

_She looked at me with a weird grin and chuckled, disoriented. She soon had her face back onto the snow. I could tell that hit had made her unconscious. No duh. I got up from my shock and ran over to her. I tried to pick her up, but I couldn't do it. So I did what I do best. I ran and dragged Madison away with me._

_"Help!" I screamed at the colony. I slowed down dramatically as I realized something. I was leading them straight to the colony! "Somebody get over here, and help me!" I shrieked. I ran a different direction to get the seals away from the colony. I screamed as they chased me and the motionless form of Madison that I was dragging. _

_I blame her for this! If she hadn't wanted to go seal fishing, we wouldn't be in this mess. Terror. I was terrified beyond belief. That was what made me grateful and beyond relieved when Amber and Flora suddenly came, having heard my screams._

_"What's wr- oh my god!" Flora caught sight of all the seals._

_"What the hell happened?" Amber asked. _

_Flora clamped Ambers beak shut. "Amber, language! Sara's present!" she scolded._

_"Is this really the time?" I yelled as I hid behind them._

_"Well actually-" Amber cut herself off when she noticed the seals coming straight at her. "Wow, you two seriously pissed these guys off." I dropped Madison and felt my conflicted emotions of fear and determination. But I pushed my fear down and prepared myself to help my closest friends._

_"How did this happen?" Flora asked me._

_"Madison." That was all I needed to say. _

_"Bored?" Amber and Flora asked together. I nodded in response._

_"Well, let's kick some blubber butt!" Amber smirked and smacked her flippers together. By this point those seals had gotten over to us. And to be brutally honest…they looked lazy and tired. They didn't look as near as a threat like before. "Aw, are you fat seals getting tired?" Amber mocked. That got the leader seal angry enough to lunge at her. I yelped in surprise and hid behind Flora, who kept her flippers stretched out protectively._

_Amber jumped up and landed on the leopard seals head. She held on tight as the seal jerked its head around to get her off. "Give me something to work with Flora!" Amber yelled as she continued to get jerked around._

_"Go with move woodpecker!" Flora yelled back. Amber then rammed her beak repeatedly into the seals skull. Flora covered my eyes._

_"So much violence," I whimpered. I felt something nudge my back. Stiffening, I turned around in a frightened fighting stance. I relaxed when I saw it was just Madison. By the smile on her face I could tell she was ready to kick some seal butt. She grinned deviously as a seal came from behind her, which I think she knew was behind her because of the shadow. She jumped up high in a back flip and landed on the seals back._

_She let out a woo and smacked the seal like it was a ride. The seal yelped and it started going for the large seal Amber was still attacking. Flora jumped on another seal, following Madison's example, and made the seal charge after Madison's. To help Amber out, I knew I had to be brave. It was a nightmare coming true, but it's the only way at this point._

_I jumped on the closest seal to me and slapped it like I saw Madison, and Flora do. It yelped and started charging. "How they heck do you steer a seal?" I yelled._

_"You can't!" Flora answered back. _

_That wasn't helping me out very much. I tried to steer it to the biggest one, the one Amber was fighting, and who Madison had lured to get up here in the first place. It was much bigger then the other seals that was for sure. It actually worked and the seal was heading straight for it. Madison jumped off the seal as it crashed against the large bloody one. Amber must have gotten the skin to break on the seals head or something. Ew!_

_The seal Madison had jumped off started attacking the other seal in rage. Amber jumped off of hers as it started fighting the other seal too._

_I finally realized what we were doing. Turning them against each other! I saw Flora jump off her seal as it crashed against the other two. With rage building, the other seals started attacking that one also. I noticed I was next and prepared myself to jump. I jumped off at the right moment, and the seal went crashing into more bloody seal fat._

_"Bravo Sara," Amber praised. "Excellent idea Madison." Madison raised her head in pride. "But you're still in trouble for making seals come out here," Amber growled. Madison slumped at that statement and frowned deeply._

_We waddled away from the seals, so they could kill each other. I never want to see another seal attack again for as long as I live!_

**(End of Flashback)**

It was scary, but I was glad they were there to help me. But they couldn't help me now. It wasn't just because they were in as much as depression as I was but this situation… it was so different. I never had to deal with a murder mystery. Never. But now…we all are shocked about what happened. I can't say I blame anyone. Well maybe those seals. I bet those seals killed them! No doubt about. They killed my family, so they must have killed my cousins now. I have no idea what to do. If my cousins are dead, then I am the last one alive in my family. It's terrible.

I moved my gaze from the ground, and when I looked up I saw Madison in front of me. Considering her flipper was stretched out, I think she was going to tap my shoulder for my attention.

"Yes Madison?" I asked weakly. The frown on her beak went deeper, and she pointed behind me. There I saw Amber. She looked shocked on cold feet. She looked extremely pale for a penguin. "Poor Amber." I turned back to Madison; she nodded grimly.

She didn't look at me any longer and waddled off to some other direction.

_Where is she going? _I thought curiously.

* * *

><p><strong>Madison's POV<strong>

At first, I didn't really understand what was going. I just knew that our home was destroyed and everyone was gone. I could tell by the looks from everyone that it wasn't good. It was just hard to process for me I guess. But I knew that once I saw the blood and Amber that they must be dead. Look, I'm not the smartest penguin, but I know when someone is dead. I've had the experience.

Either way, I know for a fact that it was going to scar all three of my friends. Me? I don't know. I'm not going be cruel and say I won't miss _all_ of the penguins that use to live here. Of course I'll miss my brothers! They're the only ones in my family that actually accepted me. Parents? Not so much. I could care less if they were dead.

The thing that hurts is the fact that the whole place is destroyed and that I won't ever see my brothers again. I had some pretty good times here and bad ones but that was natural. Like the seal attack I started and I might have even broken a flipper by jumping off a berg a couple of times but that was natural too. For me at least. It wasn't odd when I kept breaking parts of my body. It was odder when I didn't. But some were worse then others. But I could tell that the pain they were experiencing now was stronger then the wound on my stomach. I could tell. They felt more about then I did.

I had walked away from Sara, and I started my way to a memory I was hoping was still standing.

I went behind a giant mound of snow and what I saw made my frown grow deeper. The memory was destroyed. I didn't expect it to be any different though. There was a giant target there before. One of the few things that Amber let us keep on a raid for supplies from the humans. It was now ripped apart into shreds. I had got it a couple of years ago so I could teach Sara how to aim. She had improved so much that she became much better then me. I could still remember one of the times we had first used the target.

**(Flashback, Madison's POV)**

_"Do you think I should aim higher?" Sara asked. _

_I nodded from a slight distance. I was sitting down on a block of ice, and Sara was trying to aim with a bow and arrow that Flora had made for her. Flora had gotten the right materials from a recent raid we did and carved the wood so we could use it as a bow. Ice bows don't exactly work you know._

_Sara adjusted her aim and, by the look on her face, she was judging the wind too. With the wind in consideration she moved her bow a bit to the right, and let go of the string. The arrow went flying, and I watched smugly as the arrow landed in the middle of the target. I clapped in approval and grunted._

_She looked at me with a happy gleam in her eyes. "I did it! That's thirty-seven times in a row!" Sara exclaimed in happiness. It was a bit annoying, but I will tolerate it for her sake. She was improving a lot. She was much better then me at this point._

_"What happened thirty-seven times in a row?" a male voice asked. I turned my head a bit and saw Sara's cousin._

_"Danny!" Sara squealed in happiness. She ran to him and gave him a big hug. The two looked a lot like. You could mistake him for her brother. "I was able to shoot my arrows at the bull's-eye center thirty-seven times straight!"_

_"Wow, that's impressive!" Danny looked at her happily, which gave the affect that he was actually her father in a way. "You've gotten good. I always believe in that the student can surpass the master."_

_I rolled my eyes. I wasn't a master. I was just teaching the little stuff I know. Sara is definitely a master herself now. I smiled widely when I saw my brother coming up behind Danny. I grunted excitedly and got off of my ice block seat._

_"Hey Max, Sara is a master bowman," Danny stated proudly to my brother. _

_Sara narrowed her eyes slightly. "Don't you mean bow-woman?" she asked. _

_Danny laughed, "I don't know about woman but sure. Bow-woman."_

_I waddled up to the three penguins and nudged my brother Max playfully on the side. I admit that he was rather large. He's one of those fat guys you might see as DJ's. In fact, he was a lot like one. He was into hip-hop, rap, dancing and singing like I was. Though I couldn't sing. I wouldn't admit, not the I could really, but he's personally my favorite brother._

_"Hey Maddie!" Max said in a deep voice. "Want me to save you some fish?" I smiled and nodded in answer. "Yo Danny, let's get back to the center of the colony. Amber and Flora brought back a lot of fish this time!" Max started pushing him away from Sara and back to the colony._

_"Later Sara!" Danny shouted over Max. Sara and I didn't go to help Amber and Flora with fishing because of target practice._

_"Want to practice some more?" Sara asked me. _

_I looked at her, faintly surprised. She didn't want to help them? I must be influencing her. Man, Amber's going to kill me. Who cares though, it was going to be fun while it lasted! __I smiled at her and nodded. She squealed and started to aim at the target once more. The student has surpassed the master._

**(End of Flashback)**

I sighed. I was going to miss that target. Even when an arrow was shot in my butt, it was still a good time.

I jumped when something touched me. I whirled around and saw Sara. Her eyes were wide and pricked with tears. Why did she follow me and have to see this? Dang it Sara!

"It's gone?" she whimpered. I sighed a second time and nodded sadly. "Who did this?" she whimpered before burying her face in my feathers. I froze and stared down at her with wide eyes. What the heck do I do? I never had to deal with this kind of thing before. I hesitantly patted her back. She looked up at me with tear filled eyes. "We will teach them a lesson right?"

I offered an evil grin and grunted. Of course we were going to beat the crud out of whoever did this! Come on, it's us! We don't let things like this just slide on by. Those that didn't know that would learn the hard way.

Sara smiled back at me and wiped away the tears from her eyes. She released her grip and took a step back. "Sorry about that," she apologized. "I just feel so upset." She put her head down in shame. I waddled past her and patted her back as I did. She wasn't the only one.

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><p><strong>Amber's POV<strong>

I just couldn't move. I couldn't. I was frozen at the spot. Everything was moving around me, but I was just frozen. I tried to move, but I couldn't. This wasn't right. It had to be those humans fault! If they hadn't taken us away, we might have been able to save them! They were dead because of those humans. I hate them. They took it too far! I hate them, and I will never let them touch me, or anybody else I know as long as I'm standing and breathing.

I let my anger take over my body and it helped me move. I took a couple of steps forward so I could take in more of the wreck. I glanced around, and it took me a moment to realize Flora, Madison and Sara weren't there. _Wonder where they went..._ I took a few more steps until I was in the middle of the colony's destroyed camp. It didn't look any better then the rest of the area. I glared at the ground where blood was. I shifted my feet when a cold breeze blew by and snapped my head back up when I heard the crunching of ice. I relaxed when I saw Flora, Sara and Madison coming to me. _Nothing to fear...just my team._

"So…what now?" Sara asked when they got close enough.

I rubbed my temple, frustrated. "We can't just expect everyone to come back from thin air."

"That's not even possible anyway," Flora muttered. "Not at all plausible in any shape or form." I decided to ignore that for once and just let it slide.

"What are we going to do?" Sara whimpered.

"We might as well track the guys that did this." I rubbed the back of my head. What else could we do?

"That is a wise decision," Flora said.

"I agree with Flora," Sara admitted. Madison nodded her head in support.

"Flora, where is the best place to start are search and revenge mission?" I asked.

Flora looked thoughtful for a moment and, for just a second; I saw her eyes flash with excitement and hope. "Well, we could start in New York..." Flora suggested shyly.

I gave her a fierce glare. Oh, we weren't going to have any distractions this time! "No way Flora!" I yelled.

"Please Amber!" Sara whined. "I wouldn't mind starting a search there!"

"No! We're not going back there, ever! Distractions are something we don't need. I know why all you three want to go back, but it'll only get in our way." I softened my gaze on Flora and looked at the three. "You all know that." They looked down in their own depression, and I felt a slight twinge of guilt. It wasn't enough to get me to change my mind though.

"Alright Amber," Sara murmured sadly.

"Good. Case closed. Now let's get searching. I'm positive the things that caused this left something behind."

The three saluted and wandered off to find any evidence or clues. Even the smallest of things could be useful.

I sighed and stared off into the distance, irritating myself because I saw it in cheesy movies. My attention switched back to the colony. _I'm going to catch whoever did this, and I'm going to make sure they never see the light of day ever again. We are all going to get our revenge._

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><p><strong>Amber's evil! Sort of. I think her actions and thoughts are justified. So that's what it was like at Antarctica for them. I just gave away some stuff to, but I'll let you all put it together, which I think you can do. I regret nothing! I also feel very tired, and I must do something about my mild headache. <strong>

**Private: Would you like some tea?**

**Me: Yes please. Now please review and if you don't…**

**Rico: KABOOM!**

**Me: I couldn't have said it better myself Rico.**


	28. Coming Back

**Just for the record, I love murder mysteries! Usually. It depends if it sucks or not. No duh. Either way, I thank all who give me my reviews, and who bother to send me virtual chocolate. Adr62395ian, thank you for not hitting me with a stick. Yet. Alright back to the story!**

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><p>The female penguins were shifting through shattered ice blocks, snow and other kinds of material to find any starting evidence to who could have done such a horrific thing to their colony and the inhabitants. They had been doing this for hours and they so far they had nothing to show for it.<p>

Flora looked over her shoulder and saw Amber, who was getting desperate at this point. She was throwing things aside and was practically digging in the ice to find any kind evidence. Flora sighed and waddled over to her commanding officer. "Amber, maybe you need a break?" she suggested lightly.

Amber looked at Flora with her eye twitching. "We need evidence, you know that!" she growled harshly.

"I agree with Flora," Sara said as she also came over with Madison right behind her. "You need a break. It's not like the evidence is going to crawl away." Madison grunted and nodded in agreement.

"But every second we waste the enemy could be getting away!" Amber shot back.

Flora rubbed the back of her head with an exasperated look on her face. She waddled to Madison when Amber started looking again. "I require your assistance Madison," Flora whispered to the silent penguin. Madison looked at her curiously. "I need you to help me drag Amber somewhere. I would ask Sara, but I don't think she has the muscle I need."

Madison smiled slightly and nodded. The two tall penguins waddled up behind their leader silently. They gave each other a glance and nodded.

"Here we go," Flora grunted and took one of Amber's flippers. Madison grunted as she took Amber's other flipper.

"Hey!" Amber struggled. It was really difficult for Madison, and Flora to keep her in their grip.

"This is for your own good Amber, you need to rest," Flora reasoned. Madison grunted in support. "Sara, grab Amber's feet!"

Sara ran over and reluctantly grabbed Amber's feet. Amber kept struggling and yelled in protest, but her team kept a strong hold. It was extremely difficult and tiring to do so. Amber was far more strength superior then they were and probably ever would be. Even with all three of them, they were still having trouble keeping her down. After they waddled a fair distance away from the colony wreck they dropped her onto the ice.

Amber jumped up and glared at all of them. "What was that?" she shouted.

Flora glanced nervously at the other two. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. "Y-you should r-rest. I-It's-" Flora took a deep breath to stop her stutter. "It's for the best."

Amber shook her head disapprovingly but offered them a proud smile. "I don't like the way you're all thinking," she told them. They lowered their heads in shame. "But," she started again. They lifted their heads up at those words. "I'm surprised you could hold me down like that, so I'll give you that much."

Madison and Sara laughed lightly, but Flora kept a serious expression on her features. "You do understand that we can't just stay here?" she asked Amber. "Even if we find evidence, there is no guarantee that the enemy will be here in Antarctica."

Amber looked at her thoughtfully. "Well what do you think we should do?" She immediately regretted asking that when Flora suggested, "We could go to New York." Amber growled, "We've been over this Flora! No New York, no Manhattan. We're not going back there! I said case closed, and I mean it."

"Why not?" Sara whined.

Amber face palmed. "Haven't we been over this?" she shouted at the sky with her flippers waving widely about her.

"Hey Sara, Madison I think I left something over there…" Flora gave them a look that said, 'go away and let me handle this'.

"Oh, ok Flora!" Sara winked, catching Flora's drift with little to no subtly. "Let's go Madison," Sara instructed lightly but cheerfully. Madison groaned loudly, and waddled reluctantly after Sara since she didn't have much of a choice in the matter anyway.

Flora turned back to Amber and waited till the two penguins' were out of earshot. "I say it would be a wise decision to go back to New York."

"And I say no way," Amber hissed. "We got enough going on around here. I don't need you three making goo-goo eyes during the mission," she told her sternly with scorn in her eyes.

"But it's the right idea! If-" Flora tried but Amber interrupted by saying, "No Flora. We're not going. Do I need to spell it out for you? Cause I think it'd take a long time. We both know I can't spell, much less read!"

Flora glared. "Will you let me finish? I got great points here, and I think you should listen to them."

Amber's eyes flashed with admiration. "Fine. I'm proud of you for standing up though." Flora smiled proudly. Her proud smile was immediately wiped off her face when Amber said, "Don't ever do it again."

She gave a nervous grin and muttered, "I'll try my best." Amber looked at her exasperated but asked her to continue. "If we go to New York, we can get assistance, and it'd be better then staying here where we got no resources."

Amber rolled this over in her head. Flora made a lot of sense, but she didn't want to admit it. If anything that she bothered to listen to her dad was 'never admit anything'. She followed that principle in lots of tight situations. But this time it was harder. Flora saw the opportunity to push further into her reasons and spoke again.

"We have much more valuable help, and it'd be better cover to gather information. I'm sure Kowalski, and I can hack into some computers and do all kinds of things to help our investigation. Who would suspect local penguins at a zoo plotting against the murders that killed their families in Antarctica?"

Amber groaned as she caved in. "Fine!" She threw her flippers up into the air in defeat. "We'll go but it's not because you persuaded me, it's because I felt like it."

Flora smiled at her leader's stubbornness. "Of course Amber."

"Now, how will we get back?" Amber asked. "We both know the next boat won't come for a while and the one we hijacked probably left by now."

Flora smiled knowingly, already having thought of a way. "I have my ways."

* * *

><p><strong>One Week Later at New York's Central Park Zoo<strong>

"Another day of entertaining zoo visitors," Skipper announced to his fellow penguins when the last of the visitors left for the day.

"And another day without the girls," Kowalski muttered under his breath. The guys sighed despairingly.

Skipper composed himself to set as a model for his team. "We are perfectly fine without them."

"But Skippah," Private started. "It just feels so different. Even the zoo visitors seem upset about it."

Skipper sighed, "I know Private."

They heard a splash and turned their heads to the sound. Marlene jumped out of the water from their habitat and looked at them. "You shouldn't be too upset about it," Marlene told them with care.

"Why?" Private asked.

"Because they say if you love something set it free." Marlene made a gesture to the sky. This honestly wasn't helping them get over their heartbreak.

"That sounds illogical. Why would you set something free that you loved? It feels terrible without Flora." Kowalski frowned. "And the other girls," he added quickly when he saw the looks from his teammates.

"Well, you would want them to be happy, right?" Marlene asked them. They nodded their heads in response. "Then if you really cared for them then you would want them to be happy." She let that sink in for a bit before she spoke again. "Plus, they say that if it comes back then hold on to it forever and it's yours."

Skipper smirked. "Folksy wisdom Marlene."

"Well, I'll see you all later. Bye!" Marlene waved goodbye to the penguins before leaving the habitat. She left feeling successful that she touched them in some way. At least she was hoping for that.

"Do you ever think the girls would come back, Skippah?" Private asked.

"Well you never know, young Private," Skipper told him. That was the best answer he could give him. He didn't want to crush his dreams, but he didn't want his hopes to get up too high either.

They stopped what they had been doing when they heard something faint in the distance. They listened carefully. It sounded like…music? It wasn't King Julien's, or else it would be much louder and annoying. Normally, it would've been dismissed as someone with a boom box but something about it got them curious. Maybe a bit hopeful.

"Should we check this out Skipper?" Kowalski asked.

"Yes, let's roll out men!" Skipper jumped out of the habitat with Kowalski, Rico and Private not far behind. The music was coming from outside the zoo all right, hiding in the depths of Central Park. They looked over the zoo walls and listened carefully. The music had gotten clearer and louder.

**"_Cause we belong together now yeah. Forever united here somehow yeah!"_**

"What is that?' Private asked curiously.

"I dunno," Rico grunted and shrugged without a clue. Skipper jumped down the walls, leaving the other three back at the wall. Skipper hid behind a tree that was really close to the music.

"_You got a piece of me and honestly my life would suck without you!"_

Skipper was so caught up in the lyrics he didn't notice Kowalski, Rico and Private come over and hide at the tree with him. They all listened to the music.

"_Maybe I was stupid, for telling you goodbye. Maybe I was wrong for trying to pick a fight. I know I got issues, but you are pretty messed up too. Either way I found out, I'm nothing without you. Cause we belong together now, yeah! Forever united here somehow, yeah!"_

Skipper finally looked over the tree and what he saw pleasantly surprised him.

It was the girls! Every single one of them. Flora, Sara, Madison and…Amber. His heart jumped a bit when he saw her. They were just relaxing around a tree with their eyes closed. Madison had her recorder out, resting on her bandaged stomach which was the source of the music. It was obvious that they were enjoying listening to the music in peace. His team looked over the tree, and let out little gasps when they saw them. The girls eyes flew opened, and they looked around cautiously.

"_You got a piece of me, and honestly. My life would sucks without y-" _The recorder stopped abruptly as Madison jumped up and dropped it. She quickly grabbed it back up and looked at it worriedly, afraid that it might be broken.

The girls gazes, minus Madison's, went onto the tree the guys were hiding at. Flora and Sara's eyes went wide with delighted surprise.

"Kowalski?" Flora asked hopefully.

"Private?" Sara sounded just as hopeful.

Sara and Flora got up from their sitting positions and looked at the tree with desperate hopeful looks on their faces. Amber rolled her eyes and shifted into a more comfortable position against the tree while Madison continued to fiddle with her recorder. The guys stepped out, so they were in the girl's field of vision.

"Sara?" Private whispered disbelievingly. He thought he would never see her again! Even if he did, he thought it would have been a long time from when they had left.

"Private!" Sara exclaimed with happy tears pricking her eyes. She ran towards him and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much!" she sobbed. She let her happy tears come down on his chest as she smiled up at him.

Private let his own happy tears flow down as he returned the hug. "I missed you too!" he cried.

Flora looked at Kowalski with her cheeks lit up red. "Hi Kowalski," she said shyly, like when she had first came to the zoo. It was just funny to see her so shy to him at this point in time.

"Flora..." Kowalski seemed utterly shocked but pleasantly surprised. He thought it was some kind of dream, but he knew when Flora ran up to him, and kissed him that it was no dream. He returned the kiss and held her in his flippers tightly so she would never leave him again.

Amber just sat there, leaning on the tree. She didn't really feel the exact same spark her team felt, but she still felt a happy feeling. She felt a small smile tug up on the corners of her beak.

She watched as Rico waddled to Madison like she was a ghost. He touched her shoulder, and he was rewarded with a brief glance and a grunt. He looked saddened at this. Madison stiffened after a moment and whipped her head back up at him. Her eyes went wide with shock and surprise, but her beak slowly turned up into a grin that just got bigger and bigger. She dropped her recorder again, and enveloped Rico into a large bear hug. Rico happily returned it and nuzzled her neck feathers as she did the same with his. It was a nice reunion. For those six at least.

Skipper waddled slowly up to Amber. She looked up at him with a tiny smile on her face. "Hey Skipper," was all she said.

He smirked at her with his flippers on his hips. "Hey." They looked at each other in silence as the other penguins continued to have a loving reunion. "So why did you all come back?" he asked quietly and sat next to her.

Amber didn't plan on giving away the events that happened, but planned on telling him the main part. "Lets just say I had a little convincing from a second in charge," she responded while watching Flora and Kowalski kiss.

"Well I'm glad she did that." Skipper smiled warmly at her, happy to have her back. She smiled back and felt her heart flutter, much to her distaste. "Maybe we should get back to the HQ?" Skipper suggested.

"How about we wait a little longer. I think these certain penguins want to enjoy their time together." Amber smirked. She didn't approve, but she didn't have much control on those three when it came to emotions and feelings. Love does what love does. If their hearts got broken she would be there for them. Part of her thought that would never happen. They seemed like good enough penguins.

"I think we need a little catching up to do," Skipper told her and held a sly smirk on his beak as he eyed her.

For once, Amber decided to ignore her paranoia. "So what have you been up too?"

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><p><strong>The song was 'My Life Would Suck Without You' by Kelly Clarkson. I only did a part of it though. The next chapter is the last! I feel good on the inside, and I really enjoy all your reviews.<strong>

**Sara: We're back!**

**Flora: We're so happy about it!**

**Kowalski: I know I am!**

**Me: Just no love junk. I had enough of it in this chapter.**

**Private: Why are you so against it?**

**Me: Not a romantic. I enjoy tragedy, action and adventure way more! But I don't really mind a sprinkle of romance.**

**Skipper: Ignore the girl and review.**


	29. Real Home

**Last chapter! Hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>"We had a movie night with popcorn, candy, soda, and everything!" Private informed Sara when they entered their HQ. The girls were very happy to be back in the old habitat and wasted no time in getting caught up with the events that had taken place while they were gone.<p>

"Sounds like it was fun! What movie did you all see?" Sara asked.

Private shuddered as he remembered the movie. "Saw," he told her.

Sara gasped. "Why did you watch that?" Private shrugged in response.

"It wasn't as interesting, or fun to experiment without you around Flora," Kowalski admitted sadly to the female intellect.

"Well I missed your company Kowalski." Flora blushed.

Kowalski smiled, but his eyes went wide when he remembered something. "Wait here a second!" He rushed to his lab, which surprised all the penguins in the HQ. Kowalski came back out a second later with something behind his back. "Here you go. I think you want this back." Kowalski took Flora's white daisy flower from behind his back and presented it to her. Flora gave him a delighted smile when Kowalski put it on her head for her.

"That's so sweet!" Sara sighed happily and held a dreamy expression. Always the fan for romance.

"Thanks Kowalski." Flora smiled even wider if it was possible. Kowalski smiled back and blushed.

Madison and Rico stared at each other fondly. Rico kissed her cheek which made Madison blush and playfully shove him away with her eyes darting to the other side of the room. She allowed Rico to wrap his flipper around hers which, to her own disgust, made her giggle.

"I can't believe this," Amber muttered, watching the display. "My team is going soft."

"Mine too," Skipper grumbled. "Maybe extra training would do the trick..." he said thoughtfully.

"Or maybe we could mess with them," Amber snickered.

They were interrupted when Private, and Sara waddled up to them. "Can we go greet the zoo animals?" Sara asked sweetly. "We haven't seen them in a while."

"I guess so," Amber said reluctantly.

Sara squealed in excitement, and instantly ran up the hatch. The fish bowl slid away again after a few moments, and Sara poked her head into the HQ. "Anyone coming?" she asked. Amber, Flora, and Madison exchanged glances, shrugged, got up and started heading up the hatch without a word.

"You all coming, or you going to lay around?" Amber shouted down into the fishbowl entrance.

"Might as well go." Kowalski shrugged with amusement in his eyes. He went after the girls with Rico behind him.

Private soon followed, but turned around and saw Skipper still sitting around. "Coming Skippah?" Private asked.

Skipper looked at him and sighed. "Coming Private." Skipper waddled up the ladder with Private.

"Something on your mind Skippah?" Private asked thoughtfully.

"I just have some things I need to work out. I'll talk to Amber later about it," Skipper told him. Private smiled knowingly but held his tongue. "Lets catch up with everyone before we lose them." Skipper started running to the others with Private at his side.

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><p><strong>Joeys Habitat <strong>

"Oy, what are you penguins doing 'round here?" Joey asked Rico and Kowalski crossly. "Joey don't like trespassers."

"Easy Joey, we are just trying to find our female friends." Kowalski held up his flippers defensively with a nervous look.

"Didn't the little buggers leave around two weeks ago?" Joey asked, momentarily forgetting about his hostility.

"Uh huh." Rico nodded.

"But they came back," Kowalski informed.

"Well I haven't seem 'em. So get out!" Joey shouted. "Or I'll kick ya out!"

"Here we are!" Amber shouted. The four female avian flightless birds came down from the sky where they had jumped off a wall, and landed on Joey's beach bouncy ball and landed in front of the kangaroo with amusement flashing in their eyes.

"Now can you leave Joey alone!" Joey shouted angrily and snorted some air into their faces. The penguins didn't hesitate and quickly left the habitat. When they jumped over the wall they landed in front of Skipper and Private.

"There you are," Amber chuckled.

"We were wondering where you two went," Flora admitted.

Sara looked around curiously before turning back to her friends. "Hey, where did Madison go?" Sara asked curiously. Everyone else all looked around. They had no idea where she went, not even Rico.

* * *

><p>"It's the growly, fun penguin!" Julien shouted. He tried to hug Madison, but she held him back since she wasn't big on hugs. "Fine, if you do not be wanting a hug from da King then fine." Madison ignored him and went over to Maurice and Mort.<p>

"Hey Madison," Maurice greeted with a welcoming smile. Madison smiled back widely and waved her flipper in her attempt to say 'hi'.

"I missed the penguin!" Mort pounced on Madison's feet and started to hug them. "I like webbed feet!" Madison gave Maurice a disturbed look at this unexpected action from the mouse lemur.

"I'll get him." Maurice started to yank Mort off of her feet and was able to take him off and hold onto him. "Mort, how many times do I have to tell you to leave the feet alone?" Before Mort could respond; the penguins had jumped in front of them, startling Maurice. Madison smiled when she saw her friends, even though Amber was sending her a disapproving glare.

Flora folded her flippers behind her back with a satisfied look. "Knew it," she said smugly.

"Yeah, we all know that you know everything." Amber rolled her eyes sarcastically. Flora huffed and crossed her flippers over her chest, offended.

"Hello, and welcome back to my kingdom!" Julien attempted to hug Flora, but Kowalski stopped him.

"No physical contact is needed, thank you," Kowalski grumbled, annoyed and protective of his girlfriend. Julien just continued to stare at Flora.

"Why are you staring?" Flora shuffled her feet around uncomfortably.

Julien pointed to her back. "There's a spider thingy on you," Julien replied.

Floras eyes widened. "S-s-spider? Spider? SPIDER? SPIDER!" Flora ran away screaming.

Private stared at brown avian with worry as she ran circles around them. "What's wrong with Flora?" Private asked.

"She's really scared of spiders," Amber informed the private calmly and watched Flora run in circles in front of her.

"Well that isn't very good that a spider is on her back then is it?" Private rubbed the back of his head. Amber snorted in response to that.

Kowalski started running after Flora in concern. At this point she was halfway back to the penguin habitat.

"Should we go back, and make sure they're okay?" Sara asked. Private nodded, "I think we should." Private, and Sara jumped out of the habitat with Rico, and Madison following them.

"Interesting," Amber mumbled. _Whenever I'm near the lemurs, something odd happens. Now if they just stop running around then maybe we could actually see everyone again._

Skipper looked at Amber carefully. It was now or never. "Can I speak to you in private?" he asked Amber.

Amber thought about it for a moment and studied him carefully for any signs. "Sure," Amber said after a while and followed Skipper back to the habitat.

They waddled in silence for a bit, till Skipper spoke up. "I noticed we had some missing weapons."

Amber cringed slightly at those words but quickly composed herself. "Really?"

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Skipper asked suspiciously.

Amber sighed. She wasn't really going to get away with this. Might as well tell him the truth. She didn't like to admit to things, but he was going to find out eventually. "Yeah, we had took some weapons," Amber replied truthfully. _We left them at Antarctica too. _

"Why?" Skipper growled with traces of hostility that she would even do that.

"We needed them, and I didn't want to steal some from humans," Amber told him. "I need to keep a low key." Skipper groaned at these words and brought his flipper to his forehead. Amber looked at him and sympathy edged her eyes with some kind of other feeling she had when she was near him. "Look, I don't do this often so don't get use to it. I'm…sorry."

"What was that?" Skipper asked with a smirk when he lifted his flipper away from his face.

"I'm not repeating myself." Amber nudged him playfully. Skipper chuckled, but couldn't help but feel warmth when she touched him. She felt the exact same way. They waddled in silence for a bit longer till they reached there habitat.

"One more question," Skipper said as they both jumped over the habitat fence. "Why did you all leave in the first place? We never really knew why."

Amber thought for a second. What could she tell him? "We left to find our family, but Flora convinced me too bring us all back."

"I thought you told me that your family couldn't take care of themselves?" Skipper inquired suspiciously.

"They cant, but you never know. I had a friend up there who helps around. I'm sure they're…" Amber choked down the bitterness rising up in herself. "Fine."

Skipper, seeing her discomfort on the subject, decided to divert her attention. "So how do you think Flora is doing?"

* * *

><p>"Thanks for the microscope Kowalski," Flora called over her shoulder as she started to set up the microscope and slides.<p>

Kowalski looked up from the other side of the lab. "No problem. Just glad we got that spider off of you," he replied and hid his amusement on the subject.

Flora shuddered when she remembered the fuzzy thing being on her back. Flora turned back to the microscope and carefully took out the skin she had found at Antarctica. It was a good thing Amber agreed to come here, or else she wouldn't have been able to find out what animal or thing that this skin belonged to till she had found another microscope.

She placed the skin on the slide and put it into position. She looked through the eyepiece lens and adjusted the objective lens. She was pleased when the lens was in perfect position to start her analysis. She examined the skin carefully, looking for anything odd about it.

"It's clearly mammal," Flora muttered to herself. She took a pair of tweezers, and delicately ripped part of the skin off so she could keep the larger piece of skin for anything that might arise in the future. "Kowalski, do you have a DNA analyzer by chance?" she asked.

Kowalski turned away from a invention he was working on and looked at her. "Yes, it's right over there," Kowalski responded and pointed his flipper to a little machine in a corner of the lab.

"Thanks Kowalski." Flora smiled. She quickly ran over there, almost tripping, and took the machine to her work station. She placed the skin in the analyzer and waited for it to come up with results. She squinted at the screen as results flashed on it. Odd. It was a underwater mammal. A…dolphin?

* * *

><p>"I'm frustrated about the whole thing. If Flora can bend me like that then maybe I'm not fit to be leader," Amber sighed. Lately she had been having trouble with her morals in more then just one way. She sat down on the concrete island and rubbed her temple.<p>

Skipper waddled up to her from behind and put a flipper on her shoulder which made both penguins shiver on contact. "You're a good leader. Flora is a smart girl, so she probably made good points," Skipper comforted, feeling a bit awkward about it.

"Yeah, she did," Amber chuckled. "Thanks Skips."

Skipper ignored that and sat down next to her. Probably closer to her then he should have been, but Amber didn't really notice and neither did he. After some time, Skipper felt a sensation on his feathers that made them rise up in suspicion. "Ever get the feeling your every move is being watched?" he asked her suspiciously and flicked his eyes around the zoo.

"Yeah," Amber muttered. She looked around suspiciously also to find the possible source. "I feel it right now."

* * *

><p><strong>Somewhere on Coney Island<strong>

"Hey doc, when do you plan on doing your attack?" a lobster asked a figure that was watching two penguins on a monitor.

"Soon red one. I just need to wait for the right time," the figure told the lobster. The figure drove into the light on his moped. The very Dr. Blowhole, the dolphin, stood in the light.

"Was it necessary to do that to the penguins home?" the lobster asked.

"Of course red one," Dr. Blowhole snapped. "I can't have them as part of my revenge if they stay in that poor excuse of a home. I mean look at me!" Blowhole pointed to part of his skin that had been ripped off and covered up with a bandage. "My perfect, smooth skin!" Besides, it's good to have some assistance with revenge when we have a inside source."

"I agree Blowhole," a voice rang out from a door just then opening.

Blowhole turned around and looked as a penguin came into view. "Ah yes, pen-gu-in. I must thank you for your assistance."

"It's penguin," it snapped. "And it's all part of the job to get what I want."

"Might I ask why you were so willing to betray them?" Dr. Blowhole asked.

"We all got our scores to settle around here. And revenge is the key," the penguin told him with a snarl.

"Agreed pen-gu-in." Blowhole turned back to the screen to see the two penguins on the screen disappear into their hidden HQ. "Revenge will come soon." Blowhole turned to the lobster and opened his mouth, awaiting fish. A few moments and nothing had entered his mouth. He looked down at the lobster angrily.

"Sorry doc, all out. I'll go get some more." The lobster ran off to get some more fish.

"So what do you plan do with my foe Amber?" the penguin asked the dolphin. "Capture and torture," Blowhole informed him. "It will also hurt my foe Skipper. I can tell he has something for that pen-gu-in. Now let us go plan our attack."

The penguin and dolphin left the room and a metal door shut behind them, leaving their maniacal laughter echoing throughout the room.

* * *

><p><em>Learning to trust is one of life's most difficult tasks. -Isaac Watts<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for the reviews and that's the end of this story! I feel accomplished! There will be more stories. I got a whole bunch in store.<strong>

**Rico: Oh boy…**

**Amber: Not more stories!**

**Me: Hey you'll all get some romance in later ones.**

**Flora: I'm fine with that.**

**Kowalski: Me too.**

**Amber: I'm not!**

**Me: Of course. Well thanks for reading my story! Seriously though, thanks for the reviews and everything. Peace out and all that hippie crud!**


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